A friend sent me this true story-
"A few years ago I received a call from a girl I knew in HS who had fled with her daughter across country when her daughter was about 2. Her now 16 yr old daughter was wanting to contact her father and did I still know how to contact them? I did.... ... Mom thought daughter wanted to ream him...... ..she still held onto some old anger and seemed pretty pleased about it. I had been in contact on and off with dad and heard both sides. Well, bits and pieces of both sides and it wasn't pretty. Knowing I didn't have the full story and was always friends with both, I refused to take sides.
I was happy to leave a note at his parents house. I still knew were they lived. A few months later I received a tearful call from Dad thanking me for taking the time to leave that note. A note which was on the back of my business card and had fallen off the screen door, yet somehow they found it. Through his tears he had told me he had prayed and prayed for this day to come. He had thought about hiring a PI over the years but decided not to, thinking that might interrupt her life. He had been in contact with her via phone.... they were catching up.... she choosing a college and doing fantastic. She was NOT angry with him, just had a lot of questions. They were planning a family reunion and he would be honored if my son and I could make it. The reunion was fantastic. I was able to meet his wife, and see the bio moms family. That single call brought everyone together. The bio mother had cut off her side of the family living on this side of the country as well when she took off. Dad made sure he contacted every one of his ex's family members who had been taken from this little girls life for this reunion.... It was fantastic to see people I hadn't seen in close to 20 years. Even better to see everyone get together and let bygones be bygones. He never had to say a single word about what happened. His ex's family did all the explaining. No one was prompted, her family simply told...
I think her dad came up with one of the classiest lines I've heard. He told his daughter, "We can't make up for the years we were taken away from each other, but the games still young. We're at the 25 yard line and we have another 75 to go."
So while your heart might be breaking, know it's not forever. If by chance you don't win your battle now, there will come a time your child is an adult and is able to make decisions for him or herself. Childhood is a precious part of life, but a small part of life when
we count the years.
Hugs....and keep the faith.
Michelle & Joey"
Announcing a name change-
EgalitarianFeminist4Fathers
(same location, different name)
No comments:
Post a Comment