My dad died 5 years ago from Kidney Cancer. The months preceding his diagnosis by parents divorced after 37 years of marriage. My sister and I are grown and tried to help our parents through this difficult time. When our father became ill, we were judged by his siblings and cast away. We had to fight to see our father in his final days. Not only did we lose out dad we lost everyone on that side of the family as the punished us for the divorce and its strain on his health. WHY? Our dad would never have wanted his girls treated this way. It was only because he could not speak for himself that they got away with what they did. How can I move on? How can I forgive them? I want just one minute alone with my dad, please.
deleted_user
My dad passed 2 1/2 years ago and it still causes me deep pain on a daily basis. I can't imagine dealing with family strife on top of it all. The only advice I can give is to not beat yourself up too much, try to forgive your family for you, not for them and one thing I did that helped was writing my dad a letter, it got my feelings down on paper where I could read it and remember. I wish I could give you just one minute alone with your dad, but I believe our dads are always with us and I talk to mine all the time and there are moments I do feel him with me, or I catch the scent of fresh starch and dry idea hairspray. I don't know where you stand on faith, but I'm Wiccan and my sisters have helped enormously. I wish I had more answers for you, but why don't we make a pact to share any answers we find with each other when we find them. :)
deleted_user
I must agree with this. I wrote a letter to my grandfather (my daddy) shortly after his passing and this caused me to be better equipped to deal with all of the emotions that I experienced after his death. I also beleive that our dads are with us for the rest of our lives. Take comfort in knowing that this is not the way that he would have wanted you guys to be treated. As MissingDad02 mentioned, it is important that you forgive your family for your own wellbeing even if you never talk to them again. Don't allow them to live rent free in your head.
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