Hi,
I'm in my early twenties. I feel I have a good relationship with my dad and he is a wonderful person, but I feel like lately it's been a bit superficial, such as the basic "How are you?" and "Here's an interesting article," etc. We do often spend time together and it's fun, but there are two deeper issues I feel like I should talk to him about concerning our relationship that I don't even know how to go into:
- My choice of what I like to read and write. I like reading and creative writing. He thinks many of the books I read are too intense and is more a fan of positive/motivational/inspirational books. I write in a similar style to what I like to read. I recently offered to send him a few of my creative writing files for him to read later, and he said he has "a lot going on" and would only be likely to read a particular piece of writing if I point it out to him. I found this a bit hurtful as I would have thought he would enjoy reading all of them, because he loves me.
- I was in a very abusive relationship two years ago, but allowed myself to be manipulated by my ex for quite a long time, so have only been NC for 3 months. I still struggle sometimes, but don't know how to approach the subject with my DF. My DM was great about talking me through my feelings, but I just wish I could talk to my dad about it in the same way. He knows almost everything that happened (through my DM), but is also a firm believer that events that happened in the past should just be let go. I just feel like it's very difficult not to be able to share some of these feelings with someone whom I really care about.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how or even if I should talk to him about these things? Thanks!