Reply #88: I can really relate, and I think your reaction is perfectly normal

[Lorien]

My parents went through an ugly divorce when I was seven, and they actually fought over who had to take the kids. My father was particularly bad about picking us up from anywhere. He would drop us off at a cousin's stable in the morning and not return until well after nightfall-sometimes even in the dead of winter. He was always running at least five hours late. I have real abandonment and trust issues with men now, too. Fortunately I get along well with my parents now and can look back and realize that they were going through a lot, and may have been doing the best that they could (though my dad still sometimes says "I was a crappy father").Even if we know why we are the way that we are, the lessons of our youth still seem so deeply etched upon our psyche that sometimes there's no escape from them.

:hug: