The Day I broke my Dad's Trust

Recent events have triggered a memory of a day I lied to my dad... and got caught doing so.

Let me set the scene: I was 15, and I had a crush on a guy in high school who was 2 years older than me - he was one of the super popular guys, and unfortunately he had a crush on my friend, not me. My friend and I were on our way to Jazz Ballet, and he asked her out.

Typical high school style, she wanted me to come along - yes, I was the 3rd wheel in this scenario - yet since I had such a crush on him, and he also asked me to tag along, I went.

I skipped Jazz Ballet.

It was devastating watching him flirt with her, and feeling so left out.

Towards the end of the class time, we snuck back to Jazz Ballet, since my dad was picking us up from there.

In the car he asked me how the class was... and I squeezed out a disheartened "yeah, good." He started asking more specific questions around what we did today, and I lied.

We got to my friends place, she thanked my dad and got out of the car; then my dad looked at me and said "I came to the class earlier today, I wanted to watch you dance!"

My heart sunk.

I had never lied to my dad - ever.

Our bond was strong - and I had broken his trust.

It wasn't just the fact that I lied to him - my dad was super busy - for him to leave work earlier to be able to come and watch me, was special - and I missed it.

Now, we all know how this works with trust. It breaks quickly, and takes forever to rebuild.

Luckily our base was strong, and of course we rebuilt it, I made sure of that. I wanted to earn his trust again, it ment everything to me... Yesterday it made me think about my own parenting style, when I had to face a decision on how to respond to something I had not expected. And what did I do? I leaned into Love and Intuition - my two most trusted buddies in parenting - and I shared this very story with my son.

I won't ever forget my dad's face, and the talk he gave me about trust. He didn't "lose it" at me for lying to him. He was disappointed, which was a lot worse. I lied to him for something so unimportant (even though it felt so important at the time)... and I had lost something that was hugely important to me. His trust.

I never lied to my dad again. It was a lesson that went deep - one delivered with so much Love in his heart - and one that I passed on with so much Love to my own son last night.

I am sitting here in gratitude for how I handled things. I am grateful to my dad for the lesson. Who would've thought the day I skipped Ballet class, what an impact this would have on my own parenting 37 years later.

Lean into Love, trust your Intuition.

How would you learn your lesson best?

With Love,

Marie x

PS: just a friendly reminder for the Family Bereavement Sessions being 50% when booked in September (even if we hold them later in the year).