Talking to my various family members about their grievances with other fam makes me realise how dysfunctional they (and probably me) really are. Nobody's honest with each other about their pain, they just spend their lives alternating between arrows and shields. It's exhausting.

*probably I, can't be arsed to repost for the sake of my own pedantry

My dad, who is.about as emotionally unintelligent as they come, has just figured out that it *might* be a good idea to apologise to his grown up kids for being a brutal alcoholic if he wants anyone to give a shit when he dies. I got my first ever genuine apology yesterday.

I actually had to *tell* him apologising and meaning it would help. He legit was like 'Do you think that will help?' Gee dad, dunno, years of difficult-to-process trauma... Shot in the dark here, but it might help make your kids actually want to call you once in a blue moon