Not Mr. Wonderful

In light of Father's Day being this month the girls over at the Sweet Shoppe posted a challenge to scrap a layout about a man that has been influential in your life. So I started to scrap a page about my father. It took a direction that I'm sure wasn't what you would normally see in regards to Father's Day but it is what it is. It was a bit therapeutic getting it out on paper though.



Journaling
When I think about my childhood I don’t remember happy father-daughter moments. I remember hurt, anger and pain. You were rarely home and when you were it wasn’t a pleasant time for us. Now that I am grow, married and have a child of my own I could never imagine being the kind of person that you are. The fact that you can look me in the eye now and not believe that you did anything wrong is unbelievable to me. That you could actually think that you were a great father while you were beating my brothers and molesting me. That is exactly why you are no longer part of my life. My daughter will never call you Grandpa. You will never be invited to her birthday party or even Christmas dinner. I have forgiven you and I’m no longer angry because that gives you the control and I’m not allowing you to have that part of me ever again. I will never forget what you did to us. And I could never trust you in my life or with my child. But I do want to thank you. As odd as that might sound to some. I want to thank you for showing me the kind of man that I didn’t want to marry. For showing me the kind of parent NOT to be. And for making me the person I am. Had you not been so abusive I would not have become the person I am today. A strong, independent, courageous SURVIVOR. I’m no longer the victim of the pain you inflicted. And you will never have that control over me again.


Credits
Miriam Lima's Garden Tea Party ~ flowers and swirls
SSD's Some Kind of Wonderful ~ Background paper and word tiles