Sounds like a good idea Dotsie....!

It is a great idea, I agree.
chick

Count me in when the topic of our Dads & daughters is started. I've got lots to share on the subject.

I love the stories of getting together with your fathers. I just learned that the father of my three oldest children has a brain tumor. He's never been a father to any of the kids and is a drunk. I doubt there is any chance of reconciliation with him and my kids because I don't think they really want it. He's done too many horrible things to them but I still can't hope that before he passes, he will make the effort to reach out to them for resolution. I think they need that.

Dotsie,
Growing up my dad and I would go to the movies and take me places and go on rides with me. We even went fishing together and I caught more fish then he did . I even went hunting with him one time and he told me to keep my mouth shut and stay behind him with the gun. I never went again . Ha! If I need money he was there . Just some thoughts on that one.

When I was writing Beyond the Tears, which is a lot about dads and daughters, my lovely husband (thank you God) told me that I would have to find a redeeming quality for my father. (who molested me and my brothers and beat his wives and endangered his children) My husband is a former social studies and literature teacher; he said even Shakespeare's most heinous characters had a redeeming quality. I could not come up with a redeeming quality of my father's during his lifetime. However, years after my father's suicide, I found redemption in my character in regards to him. In other words, I stopped wondering what, if any, his redeeming qualities were, and asked myself what might be perceived as my redeeming qualities pertaining to him. As I heal, so may his soul rest in peace. I'm not looking for a medal. I'm just saying that in order for me to have peace during my life-time (instead of waiting until death) I was willing to do the inner work necessary so as not to follow his sad fate. Love and Light, Lynn

[ July 31, 2005, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: lynn329 ]

Lynn, I am so proud of you for breaking the chain. YOU GO GIRL! I know you aren't looking for a medal, but you deserve one.

Dianne, is their dad in the same town with the kids? What is his prognosis?

Nancy, hunting? I don't blame you for not going again. Do you still fish? I bet it brings back fun memories.

Misfire....Sounds like once everyone became "aware" of the problem, a solution is being worked at. That's great and I'm happy for all of you.
I'm an only child and was extremely close to my dad, who passed away 2 years ago April. I still miss him terribly, but I do "feel" his spirit with me frequently.
My problem, all of my life, was my mom. Controlling, unhappy and a huge lack of self-esteem, which when I got older I began to figure out was the major problem. She passed away this past Feb. and it was another life lesson for me......I'll have to see if there's a topic on here for Mothers/Daughters and post my thoughts there....Sorry, think I got carried away here.

Terri, you in no way got carried away, so please don't feel sorry. I am sorry that you lost your mother and father in such a short time span. It's hard to talk about fathers and daughters without also incorporating talk about mothers and daughters. Love and Light, Lynn

Thank you, Lynn...I appreciate your kind words. Yeah, since I'm an only child, I kept thinking "And all of a sudden, there were none." But I had a great group of cousins and my children to share the grief with and I journey on.