Your relationship with dad.

You always thought that dad was unshakeable and that he could fix anything. You didn’t see how much of that strength came from pretending he had it all under control. He was just a young man trying to build a family in a country that didn’t feel like home, carrying a culture that told him men don’t crumble, they provide.

He wanted better for us, so he gave everything he had to to building a life we could depend on. But somewhere along the way he forgot to build a life he could belong to. He didn’t know that loving his family also meant learning to love himself. The walls he built to protect us became the ones that kept us from knowing him.

Now he lives with the ghosts of the choices that made him who he is. He raised a new generation while facing the same world that once demanded he stay small. You’re left holding the truth that love and distance can coexist.

Forgiving him doesn’t mean pretending you’re close or forcing a relationship. Forgiving him can mean seeing the limits of the man who raised you and accepting that his silence was never your fault or your problem to solve. You can honor what he built even if you never get to him for who he really is.

- Sabrina