Reply to Dad Wants to Spend All His Time with Me After Recent Divorce

Forum Index » Family Relationships

Reply to "Dad Wants to Spend All His Time with Me After Recent Divorce - How Do I Balance It?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I’m 43, and my dad is 66. His fourth wife, whom he was married to for six years, recently decided to part ways with him, a few months ago, and now he’s constantly wanting to spend time with me—calls that last hours, visits, and asking to do things together. I know he’s lonely, and I want to be there for him, which is why I’ve been spending so much time helping him out.

I have 3 siblings—two older brothers, and one older sister —but my dad turns to me the most. I try to visit him 3-4 times a week, sometimes more depending on how much he needs. I help clean his house, cook meals, watch TV with him, or chat over coffee. Outside of the house, we go out to eat, run errands, visit places he enjoys, or take walks. I enjoy doing it and love that I can make him feel less lonely.

But I also have a demanding job and five kids (18, 16, 15, 12, 10) and while I’m happy to help my dad, I’ve realised that it’s taking up almost all of the little free time that I have. My kids are missing me, and I don’t want to neglect them in the process.

I don’t want my dad to feel abandoned, but I also need to find a balance, I’m okay with chatting on the phone often but think the visit schedule can be changed. How do I set healthy boundaries while still supporting him during this tough time? I know he’ll feel disappointed.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics