My addictions had me spend 10 years of my adult life essentially out of my kids’ reach.

Thanks to their forgiveness, grace and mercy I’ve been back in spades since.

What I will never understand though, is how any father can make a conscious, sober choice to be distant and estranged from the very lives they helped to create. My lame ‘excuse’ was addiction yet I know otherwise sane fathers who keep walls up and I will always wonder what fills that God-given void so full that they remain blinded to such wonderful experiences they never will have and times they can never recover.

I hate Father’s Day for all those years I missed, and I love Father’s Day for those who still choose to celebrate me despite my absences.