Parenting Through – Part 5

I still mess up.

I still get sharp when I’m tired.
Still say something in the wrong tone.
Still find myself too far in my own head to notice what he needed in that moment.

But here’s what’s changed:
Now, I repair.

I name it. I apologise. I own it.
Not to dump guilt on him — but to show him that getting it wrong doesn’t mean love disappears.

I didn’t grow up with that.
When rupture happened, it stayed ruptured.
We just moved on — or pretended it never happened.

But I don’t want that for him.
I want him to see that love can hold conflict. That closeness doesn’t require perfection.
That even when I mess up, I’m still here. Still loving him. Still learning.

And when I apologise, I’m not just doing it for him.
I’m doing it for the kid in me who never heard it.
The one who needed someone to say,
“I’m sorry I got that wrong. You didn’t deserve that.”

Every time I repair, a little more of him heals.
And a little more of me does too.

Reflective Question for You:
What would it mean to offer someone (or yourself) the kind of apology you never received?