Father's Day has a way of reminding us of the important things we want to say, should say, or should have said to our fathers. This can be especially true for children of divorce. For some, expressing ourselves comes easy. For others, it can be so difficult that the words that need to be said have never been spoken to the men that need to hear them.
A surprisingly large number of people have anonymously shared those difficult words of regret to me through my website, and many are featured in my book, Secret Regrets: What if you had a Second Chance?. With my Secret Regrets community, people have found a safe place to anonymously confess the biggest regrets of their lives. They realize that no matter what they are going through -- they are not alone. Many of these secret regrets focus on the relationships between children and their parents -- specifically fathers.
For Father's Day, I have scoured the 25,000+ regrets that have been confessed to me on SecretRegrets.com and chosen eight of the most heartfelt and heartbreaking "Dear Dad" regrets.
I'm sorry that it took an illness for us to become closer. It was so difficult to watch you slip away from us once you came home from the hospital. But mom and I were where we wanted to be; with you. We'd do it all over again if we were given the chance. I am grateful that you got to meet and get to know your grandson. You were his buddy and he misses you every day. Mom is doing the best she can without you, as are all of us. But I know you know that she misses you more than words can say. There are days I want to talk to you about school, life, or just about anything. I want to call you on the phone, but I can't anymore. It kills me that you won't be able to walk me down the isle when I get married, or see anymore of your grandchildren. There is more I want to say, but I'm too broken to put them into words. You showed me what a true father is and I will never forget that. It's funny how I spent most of my life trying to date people who were nothing like you. Now I want to be with someone who is like you. It's been 7 months since you left us, and I know you're in a much better place. But sadly, life for me will never be the same.
Love always,
Your Gracie.
I wish you had never gotten married or had children.
Thanks for ruining my life.
I didn't turn out too bad. You did the best you could. I love you and miss you.
Love,
Me
You always hear about the deadbeat dads but never about the dead beat moms. You always hear about the abusive dads & now you've uncovered the abusive moms.
Yes they exist & their emotional abuse is as damaging as the abusive dad's physical abuse.
Let's face it, for every 1 "bad" dad there is 1 "bad" mom out there.
Let's get it all out of the closet.