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Tell dad to save it. You're not a priest and cannot hear his confession. My mother chose to tell me something awful about my father, and it cut me to the bone, that she'd have the audacity to tell me. Not that he was an imperfect man. She told me a lot of things she had no business telling me, but never about her mistakes, only his. Once a Pandoras Box is open, it cannot be closed. So my suggestion is to refrain from listening to dad's confessions, they won't help YOU in any way. Ask him if he'd like you to call in a clergyman for him to speak to Instead.

I'm sorry you're going thru another difficult patch with dad.
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faithfulbeauty Sep 1, 2025
You are right.. It is Pandoras Box and I have gotten so much better with everything and I do not need to hear things that would drive me into deeper depression. I'm not sure why he wants me to know. My mom was an amazing woman and to know that he did even more to hurt her is heartbreaking.
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My dad didn’t have dementia, but he certainly spoke about his regrets in life as he neared the end. He regretted how he’d not always been as kind as he wished during the the earlier years of his marriage, how he’d formerly had a mean temper at times, and not taking mom on trips to places she longed to see. It seemed getting some things off his chest gave him some peace. He was not a perfect father, but always a good one who had time for me throughout life, so none of his musings were hurtful. If your dad begins to speak of things too painful for you, there’s nothing wrong with refusing to hear it. Protecting yourself is always wise. Otherwise, his thoughts may just need to come out, and may or may not be accurate. I wish you both peace
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faithfulbeauty Sep 1, 2025
He definitely has some dementia because he gets confused and forgetful more often but he is accurate about his wrong doings. I do fear that there are some things that I do not know that would really hurt me. He keeps talking about things he did concerning my mom. I know that he did have an affair but I think there is more.
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SnoopyLove, yes it is.
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This is hard. 😞
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