Life Lessons I Learned From My Father

“He was my saving grace from the woman who reared me, and he brought sweetness and love to my life at the times when my mother had nothing but rage for her only daughter.”

Being a “girl-dad” is not an easy feat, especially to such an inquisitive, strongly-opinionated, sensitive woman like myself. But my father stepped up to the plate and did his best to be there for me, and that is more than enough.

While I appreciate the sacrifices my mother made on behalf of the family, I simply do not have the same fondness for her as I do my dad. Like many mother-daughter connections, our relationship has been nothing short of tumultuous ever since I can remember. There is still some residue of bitterness from my upbringing but I am learning to navigate the rough seas of this relationship with her in a way that is productive and beneficial for the both of us.

I was writing letters and stories ever since I was a child. And in fourth grade I decided to write a note to myself, detailing how much I couldn’t stand my mother and how I wished my dad and I could run away and live together to escape the tyranny of my jealous, angry mother and her spoiled boy-child. She desperately wanted to cultivate a loving connection with me but couldn’t get past the fact that my father gave me the love she wished her dad gave her, and she took that resentment out…