What happens and how can I help when my dad starts forgetting things?
in Psychology & Therapy ·
My dad basically just "forgot" about my sister and me.
I was eight when they split up; she was only three.
She always adored him—she was too little to grasp what was actually happening. I, on the other hand, saw everything. I knew he was cheating on Mom, and I understood exactly what divorce meant.
He paid child support for maybe two years after the split, then stopped entirely once Mom remarried. In his mind, since she had a new husband, we’d just be living off their money, going on vacations, and spending it on ourselves or whatever nonsense he imagined.
The fallout? My sister and him have always been tight. She’d spend weekends with him, go on beach trips with him and his new wife, and stay close with their whole family. I could never forgive him for how he dropped us. It felt like we were just pieces of evidence in a courtroom settlement. He never truly looked out for us or tried to earn our affection back.
I'm 23 now. It wasn't until four years ago that I started talking to him again, mostly because my partner nudged me. They told me, "Look, he's still your father. You should at least be on speaking terms."
Our relationship is stuck in this weird middle ground. My sister still spends her weekends with him, goes on those trips, and hangs out with him and his wife. As for me? I see him maybe once every few months for a couple of hours.
I was eight when they split up; she was only three.
She always adored him—she was too little to grasp what was actually happening. I, on the other hand, saw everything. I knew he was cheating on Mom, and I understood exactly what divorce meant.
He paid child support for maybe two years after the split, then stopped entirely once Mom remarried. In his mind, since she had a new husband, we’d just be living off their money, going on vacations, and spending it on ourselves or whatever nonsense he imagined.
The fallout? My sister and him have always been tight. She’d spend weekends with him, go on beach trips with him and his new wife, and stay close with their whole family. I could never forgive him for how he dropped us. It felt like we were just pieces of evidence in a courtroom settlement. He never truly looked out for us or tried to earn our affection back.
I'm 23 now. It wasn't until four years ago that I started talking to him again, mostly because my partner nudged me. They told me, "Look, he's still your father. You should at least be on speaking terms."
Our relationship is stuck in this weird middle ground. My sister still spends her weekends with him, goes on those trips, and hangs out with him and his wife. As for me? I see him maybe once every few months for a couple of hours.