Daughter closes distance, wants dad back
Dear Amy: I am a 38-year-old woman. I was raised by a single father, who sacrificed a lot for me growing up. He never dated and was devoted to me.
I was a terrible teenage girl, and I mean awful. I put him through things that no parent should ever have to deal with. Now that I am the mother of a teenage daughter, who is quite honestly almost perfect, I feel even worse for the pain I put him through.
I moved away from home when I was 18 and didn't return until about five years ago (after my divorce). I lived 3,000 miles away from him for my daughter's entire childhood, only seeing him twice a year.
When we moved back home, my dad got to spend much-needed quality time with my daughter, and he continued to do so every weekend, until he met his new girlfriend (now wife), who is only eight years older than me.
Now he's missing everything. So once again we are only seeing him during holidays and maybe the occasional monthly visit -- and we live eight miles away.
My daughter is hurt and resents his new wife.
I have admittedly been passive-aggressive, saying things like, "We miss you. Is your phone broken?" But how can I be so angry about this when he gave up so many years for me?
Dad makes excuses for his wife, saying that she's just not as social as we are.
How can I make our relationship right again without making him feel as if he has chosen his wife over us?
-- Only Child
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