his daughters heart swung agilely troublingly through across up and down the jungle gym as if it were beating in a primates chest

her six year relationship was cruelly beheaded by her boyfriend who said he couldnt trust her anymorewho said he was struggling with the end of it  who whined to mutual friends to cinch sympathy   and who began dating a barista at his favorite coffee shop two weeks after he broke up with her

he mitigated his circumstance

he cherrypicked his facts

yes  she was his daughter

yes  her hurt would be his hurt and concerna parent is always a parentchicks leaving the nest didnt negate that he was her father 

        he wouldnt have had children if he didnt want to be a fatherdidnt want to assume the awesome responsibility of raising childrentrying his best to direct them

he laid out his reasons

they laid out theirs

but after all it was their lives to live  and he would have failed them if they didnt make their own choices and live their lives as he chose to live his

aside from being a parent

he was their oldest friend

she twisted and turned on her emotions    hung  her feet off the ground

he told her unfortunately(as she knew) it was a necessary part of the process  itd get better then it wouldnt  then it would   and wouldnt    then one day without note or triumph it would be just another day in her life  the hurt alleviated

what wasnt part of the process however was the neglect she enduredsuffered at the hands of his family who made pronouncements of love to herhis parents professed they loved her like a daughter his sisters  they loved her like a sister

        THEN

as he slinked away from their relationshipdumping anything and everything he could on his daughter  be footloose and fancyfree as possible  Ill think about it  his consistent rejoinder to everything his daughter held up to him  Ill think about it

he never did

he didnt even have to moxie to tell his parents he broke up with his daughterhe let his sisters disseminate the news  left the heavy lift to everyone else because he was emotionally unkept unable to face the music

                                                                        though what music

his sisters and parents didnt reply to his daughters outreachdidnt console her or at the very least say their truly enjoyed the years she spent in their livestheir shared timebreaking bread in confidence

when you take someone into your confidenceconfide in them  you have a relationship

thats what he taught his daughtersthey taught his daughters

his daughter said maybe she set the bar too high

NO

    You provide to a relationship what you hope will be returned to youit is yes  an expectation  however some people cloy on it they use you   and you do not know youve been used until times such as this

you risk that in any relationship you begin

if it doesnt come back to you

thats not your problem

its theirs

he wanted to write his daughters boyfriends parents

but then he realised he would assault their parentingpity their inability to raise thoughtful adults

thoughtful adults descend from thoughtful parents

they werent

they would only take umbrage from his sharp words

so he didnt writehe quietly conceded to his daughter that everyone has the right to breeda right to breed without considering their offspring

he just wished they named their children Sex so others might realise their children would need more help than those children who were birthed in love

0906,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  27  9. 17

Chicago  Wake Up Sunshine  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Qz2xPyJbc