A Letter to My Son

A single father writes a heartfelt letter to his son, apologizing for his past absences and expressing his deep love and desire for a stronger relationship.

A Father's Apology and Hope

<img src="https://www.gengle.it/posts/entries/images/padre.png" alt="" width="1125" height="750" /> My dear son, I'm writing this to you, hoping to build another brick in the foundation of our relationship. Too often, you children are told that saying sorry is important, and too often we've forced you siblings to make up. Only now have I realized that, as a father, I've never apologized to you. I'm sorry for my silences, sorry for my absences, sorry for being selfish and putting my needs before yours. You're growing up so fast, and I've missed important moments in your life. I missed them for that work meeting, for that project I wanted to finish, for that <a class="wpilkeywordlink" href="https://meeters.org/it/categoria/viaggi" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" title="trip" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">trip</a> I had to take. The excuses were always many and varied, but the result is the same: I wasn't there, neither for you nor for your mom. What did I used to tell you when you were little? The teacher doesn't care about the reason you didn't do your homework. You might not have done it because the cat ate your notebook, because you had a soccer game, or because you forgot your backpack at school. The result is that you didn't do the homework. Well, I didn't do my homework either. Though, in reality, you're not a task for me; you're a pleasure. But just as the teacher gives you a second chance to hand it in the next day, I'm asking you to give me a second chance as a father. I'm not asking you to justify me, and I'm willing to take all the grief you think I deserve. I don't know how you feel about me in your heart, but I truly hope there's a way for you to get to know me, the real me, not the jerk I was. Actually, I was just too caught up in myself, not because I didn't love you. You've always been a great source of pride. I can't explain it; I was just running away—from commitments, from love. Who knows why man has the power to self-destruct like this! I ask you to take all the time you need to process this message. I ask you to think about it, and I ask you to give it a try. For us <a class="wpilkeywordlink" href="https://meeters.org/it/categoria/genitori-con-figli" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" title="parents" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">parents</a>, even though we act like "adults," they don't give us an instruction manual when you're born, right? You'll discover that one day, too. We make mistakes. Perhaps we make more mistakes than we do well. But I think it's also important to know when to step off the carousel, acknowledge our errors, know how to apologize, and start again. Maybe with a new, different relationship. I love you.