I’d put this in the pit, but it’s not a viable rant at this time, just an overwhelming feeling of sadness.
Mr. Beckwall’s daughter, who lives in another state with her mother, is having her 13th birthday next week. For as long as I can remember, she has not sent an e-mail, phoned or made any effort to communicate. Mr. Beckwall goes to see her 3-4 times a year, which is basically the only “vacation” he gets. She won’t come here, because she “hates the weather” (was here once for 3 days). This has been going on now for over 5 years.
Now that she will be a teenager, I would imagine she is capable of making conscious decisions and handling the consequences. Mr. Beckwall is a great dad - not just the easy stuff like remembering birthdays and holidays, but trying to engage her in conversations about her hobbies, interests, etc., all to no avail. She is very smart, and she knows it. In previous posts, I have written about her being allowed to skip school whenever she “needed to” (for example, at age 8 or so, “fallen arches”, “urinary tract infection” - her words, BTW). Mr. Beckwall is of the Scandinavian sector, and takes thing in a stoic manner. So he basically makes all the effort here, and gets nothing in return, and refuses to explain to her why he would like some daughterly attention from her.
Crap, this post is a mess. I have no idea what I am doing right now. Chalk it up to Friday night blues (my work week starts Sat.)Can anyone hear me out there, and perhaps give me insight into such a situation???