Is my dad normal? (involves embezzlement and a torrid affair with the neighbor) ?

Hunni, you poor thing... You know the answer to your own question already... Of course he"s not normal. But then again, what is normal?

You wouldn't need to scratch very far beneath the surface of most 'normal' looking families to find that they're anything but! As far as a normal father loving his family and treating them right, no. He's way off.

I'll go out on a limb here and say I don't think you're looking for an answer to the normal question. I think you need someone to listen to you, people to hear your story and tell you it's not your fault.

Sweety, it's not your fault.

Human beings are imperfect, our parents let us down and our loved ones betray us. It's all an unfortunate part of life. I know you're thinking "Why me? Why my family?" And there's no answer to that, you just have to be as strong as possible, and remember that it's NOT YOUR FAULT.

When my Mum had a nervous breakdown, it scarred me so deep coz there was no-one there to share the load with me, I was 13 and alone with a Mum who was a complete wreck. I hated her for that. But I found after several years, that the only way to release myself from the scars, was forgiveness, - of her and the one who did it to her.

Things are going to be tough for you and your family for a while, but you will get through it, as long as you support each other. But although it may take some time, the thing that will turn this awful experience into one that lets you grow and take invaluable life- lessons from; is forgiveness of your father. You will not be forgiving him because he deserves it, but because you do. Because a grudge is a very heavy thing to carry around with you, believe me.

In the meantime, maybe find someone you can talk to, a counselor or a close friend. I'm sure that you have been supporting and caring emotionally for your Mum full-time, it's time you took some time to do that for yourself.

Hang in there hun, I send you and yours all the love in the world.

xxx

Never ever do the neighbor,that is when a torrid affair turns into a horrid affair....... when she turns out to be your new fatal attraction,once you tell her to high tail it on down the road! A little get together with your wife and a lady stranger sounds much more appealing now doens't it?(and you will still have your package in the morning!)

Normal is a relative concept I guess. Your Dad sounds like he is either very troubled or very selfish (possibly both). His behavior seems really erratic - it must be devastating for your family.

I'm not going to pretend I know what you should do in your situation, because it sounds a lot more complicated than anything I have ever had to deal with. I hope you come through this okay and things get better for you.

Sounds like your dad has a lot of issues. Doesn't seem like it is your fault at all. I sympathize with you; I know some people who have had tough upbringings with ignorant parents. Just remember it is not your fault. You can't control the actions of others. You were right to tell your mother what he was doing because what he was doing is simply disgusting and not fair at all to your family. May God give you strength to get through these tough times.

Depends on what you mean by normal. Sounds like a bad mid life crisis to me. Which doesn't make it right, in fact, it sounds pretty selfish and crappy. But that doesn't mean abnormal. However what IS abnormal is telling the sordid details of a terrible family situation to millions of people. Some people call that 'talking out of church' but basically it means that some family business is best kept within the family.

The answer is no. He was very disrespectful to all of you and you shouldn't spare him any thought; that man, and I'm so sorry to say this because he is your father, deserves nothing from any of you. Also, i'm disappointed that the Church has harassed your mother from filing the divorce from that scoundrel; don't worry about him or that, because he wasn't a good person.

I can't believe there are people here who suggest that your dad is even close to normal. He is definitely not normal. He is a piece of crap and so are his parents.

Tell you Mother to be strong and to find another church.

Sadly, he's more normal than you might think. (Though he's definitely much worse than average.)

His parents are the real freaks. Who blames their grandchild for the failure of their son? That's pretty lame. If you're under 18 its totally ridiculous.

no bodys normal,