Chip Chick
Also, their therapist made sure to tell their father not to assume that her and her brother’s relationship with the person he dates one day is in any way reflective of their relationship with him or of his parenting.
Their therapist told her and her brother to be open-minded. She said that if they had a tough time accepting that their father was dating someone new, and if they were upset if he decided to get married again one day, they could journal about their feelings or talk to someone they trusted who wasn’t their father.
She added that they should also continue openly communicating with their father and letting him know what they’re feeling, but that it could be beneficial for them to have someone else to lean on during difficult times while they’re coping with their father dating.
Eventually, their father met Beth, whom he had been married to for 11 years.
Beth is a widow with children, and her late husband passed away several years before she met their father.
However, Beth had an unhealthy relationship with her late husband, which was unlike their father’s relationship with their mother. She believes that this is the reason there have been some issues.
When she moved out of her father’s house, she asked if she could have copies of a few photos from his wedding to her mother, and he happily allowed her to.
“I have a couple of them on display in my home, and others I keep in a little treasure album I put together,” she shared.
“Beth and Beth’s youngest child are upset that I display photos from my parents’ wedding and not her and my dad’s wedding.”
A few months ago, Beth had a discussion with her about this, claiming that if she had a photo from each of the weddings, she and her children would feel accepted and welcomed into the family.
She responded, telling Beth that it brought her joy to look at photos of her parents’ wedding, and she hadn’t meant to hurt her or her children’s feelings. But she emphasized that she would be keeping the photos up and not switching any of them out.
