Recently I read something that my father had posted online. Basically the jist of it was that he has been unhappy since the break up of him and his girlfriend. That all of this unhappiness has caused unfortunate levels of stress to build up in his life that he does not know how to get rid of. She was the one thing that made him happy and without her, he does not know if he will ever be happy again. Also that he doesn't know how much longer his body can take the toll of the stress before something happens (all but one of his brothers and sisters have had a heart attack, which is how his father died).
This is where I get angry. This man has four children that are still relatively young, as I am the only one who does not live at home. He claims to have lost all happiness when he lost this woman; how can having four good children that love you and stay out of trouble while doing good in school not make you happy as well. We were not a major part of his life while he was with her, why can he not be happy that he has us back in it.
I know how stress can build up, couple that with depression like this and it is a disaster waiting to happen. I just don’t understand how people can let one bad thing in their life consume them and control all other aspects of their life. Why do people gamble with something as serious as their health over lost relationships?
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I understand your frustration with your father, but try not to judge him too much. I went through a rough break-up a few months ago, so I understand where your father is coming from too. When you're in a deep relationship with someone and that person leaves (or you leave) you feel very empty inside. It's especially hard when that person is a big part of your life. Be patient with your father, but if you think he's being overly-negative, talk to him about all of the positive things in his life until he starts coming around. Sometimes that's the best medicine.
Sometimes kids just aren't enough to fill the void of loneliness. Not many people can talk to their kids about the hardships in their lives or any serious things because they want to try to protect their children from that sort of thing. People still need adult companionship and having kids just doesn't cut it.
It also take a bit of time to heal after a breakup. Through my divorce, I had a very rough time for almost 9 months before I was able to move on and start looking at the positive aspects of life again. It's not as easy as snapping your fingers and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.