Sunday, June 19, 2011

Day 11 ~ A Father's Apology

by anat tikker 
I have just spent the last half hour staring at my laptop~  Father's Day... heavy subject.  Well I did say that I would not sugar coat anything and be 100% honest... so here goes...


My father passed away March of 2006, and I do miss him... BUT ... we did have one roller-coaster of a relationship.  We had just reconciled five weeks prior to his death after not haven spoken for three years.  

However, it wasn't always like that.  I can truly say that as a little girl he loved me, but after he and I came back from Buenos Aires, Argentina because my mother had given custody of me to his grandfather [whom he had not spoken to in years,] ... our relationship started to change.  Oh yeah, I can't make this stuff up any better than this... this really happened!

My mother and father had rough relationship, I remember... they fought a lot, my father had a bad temper, and my mother (another story, another day) was depressed and became sick (even ending up in a mental institution) for the last three years of their marriage, after finding out that my father had an affair with her younger sister who had been staying with us...  don't really remember too many loving, happy moments after that...

Then it happened, when I was nine my mother received the dreaded phone call.  My father called to say that he had been involved in a severe dune buggy accident and he was not coming back home... he was moving out with his girlfriend.

Well his girlfriend, ended up being wife number two (the call girl) with whom I am still in contact with... and no, she is no longer a call girl.  There was also a (common law) wife number three and also a number four.  He may have had many wives, but one thing was consistent with him... he always treated his wives and their children better than his own... at least better than me.


My brother, who had a more or less healthy relationship with our dad, believes the reason dad was tougher with us was because our dad had higher expectations and standards for his children.

I am not trying to disrespect my father's memory by any means... please know I loved/love my father very much but he was not kind to me and this has always hurt me emotionally ... it changed me.  


My father went to his death bed believing that the father he had known all his life, was not his biological father... and his mother went to her deathbed years before with the truth.   I am trying to avoid anything like that happening to me~ I want happiness without any regrets.  I want to be at peace with myself and unfortunately the way my father treated me is something I have to deal with and eventually put in a balloon.  

My father would belittle me in front of others without a problem.  Apologize... not once.  He has called me many names in my life, and as I got older the names became harsher.  He has even called me the unspeakable "C" word without a bat of an eye or remorse immediately afterwards... no apology.

My father, for the most part treated women with a lack of respect, oh and if a woman showed a sign of intelligence or spunk... forget it!  He would be so rude and mean, and then of course if they happen to be my friend~ well that was the end of that.  I witnessed more than once my father tear people apart with his words!   If you could imagine a rougher version of Archie Bunker (if you are even old enough to know who he is- lol!)... a little more aggressive version if you will.  


Then if a woman he wanted to impress or someone he liked would show up~ and he would pull a 180!  Black and white, hot and cold- his demeanor and whole self would be more flirty,sweeter and funny.  As if a new person just stepped in.


Five days before his death he apologized to me.


Blessings to all.


354 days to go!!


PS... there's still a lot more healing to endure when it comes to my dad


All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Day 10 ~ Hmmm... I Think I May Be On to Something Here (?)

There's been a couple of times that I have mentioned that I (kinda) liked - wink, wink - blogging.  I don't know, maybe I'm onto something here?

I just realized that I have not told you what I do for a living... and please bare with me because it will make sense in the end.

Where do I start?  I just finished my second school year at a small [private] Christian school in western Texas (we moved here almost four years ago - another story, another day) and am out for summer vacation...I taught computers to 1st through 8th grade students.  

I'm pretty computer savvy... ~ thanks to working under the tutelage of my father for nearly a decade at his computer stores, "The Computer Supply" (Van Nuys and Newhall, CA) which doors closed back in 1996 more or less...  I can put together a computer system, troubleshoot it (I did sales and etc there), and love to work with software.  I am a freelance Graphic Designer and Computer Consultant, and pretty darn good with Microsoft Office.  Altogether I've been dancing with computers for twenty-six years.

But that's not all!  I have remodeled homes, done interior design work, bar-tending paid for my divorce and custody law suit, I have worked at a world famous gym among personal trainers, famous body builders, fitness models, actors and athletes, and I can run anyone's office (like nobody's business!) whether an architect, engineer, hair stylist or travel agent!  I am very organized and as mentioned in earlier posts (Day 7,) I "plan" everything.  

Above all, I am very artistic- While ceramics is my thing (here's a picture of my newest piece in progress), I also love to paint and I enjoy great gourmet food and even grow my own herbs and fruits/vegetables...~ as a result, the love of cooking has grown not only within myself, but in my four and a half year old daughter as well.

One constant I have always had in my life was writing~ even though I had taken what some would call a "long hiatus" (as described in Day 2), I have always done well at writing... and writing has been good to me.  I don't know, some would even say that they have noticed a "skip" in my step, and have even caught me humming a tune or two...

In the past week I have increasingly been researching all to do with blogging.  I now have a copyright on my blog and belong to a blogger's website.  Oh, Laws - Oh yes laws, because Bret and Kevin (who I have already mentioned in earlier blogs) would be more than happy to team up (another story, another day) against me... I am NOT as naive as I once was! I can not be held libel nor can I be accused of slander (ok, I can be accused, but I will also fight for the truth,) ... when I am writing the truth.

Therefore I will take this opportunity to re-state that fact that I will only write the facts and truths in my blog.  Even if I make myself to be the idiot~ it will be the truth.

In the last couple of days I have also been playing with the formatting of my blog, learning a little bit about the designing of blogs if you will. [This is where my experience comes in.] You may have noticed a different look, background photograph (taken by ME) of one of my favorite corners ;) and even a new title.

Did I mention that I (kinda) liked blogging?   ;)

Blessings to all.  

355 days to go.


All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Day 9 ~ Does Anyone Know the Answer? ... What is Self-Worth?

For the past week I've been getting these subtle messages... whether it was said by someone I know, reported on a news show or discussed by Suze Orman on "Finding Sarah: From Royalty to The Real World" on OWN ... regardless, the message was the same.
How do you get self worth?  Look for the one thing that gives you IT.  ... Do you like yourself? ... We have to like and love oneself, and be happy with oneself before we can truly be happy in life.
For as much as I want to be able to answer these questions with a big fat YES!  I need to understand them first.  


courtesy of Bing images
I know what "self" means, as well as the word "worth"- now I don't know about you, but when I put the two words together they become powerful, almost intimidating.  [So needless to say, I am still looking for IT.]  


When the question of liking oneself decides to show its ugly face, that in itself stirs up a sleuth of questions.  What I can say is, that I know I am a good person, with good morals and principles.  I know right from wrong, and help others before helping myself.  I put my children first and love them with all my heart and soul, unconditionally.  I am always there for my family.  I love and adore my husband, who always shows selflessness when it comes to his family and friends.~  He makes me want to be a better person.  Then...


Then I think of how bitter I have become.  I think of the times I have reacted before thinking or even said things I didn't mean.  Or take things out on people that don't deserve being the "scapegoat" of my hurt and/or simply what I had experienced earlier that day.  When I pass by a mirror, low and behold- there's a scowl on my face!  I never used to be like this!  I used to be a happy person [regardless of what I may had already experienced in my life]... yet that happiness seems from another time, another place, another life so long ago.  


Now, when I apologize to you tomorrow for saying or doing something that left you scratching your head because you do not know where that came from... please know that I have thought about what I did and realized that I was a "jerk" and more importantly I hope you do not hold it against me.  And yes, I have apologized (plenty of times) to my family and friends when I have realized I was wrong... there are a few of you out there that can attest to this too!  ;)


I know that I can not change what had happened yesterday... but what I can do is, with each day that is given to me, do the best possible to do something great that day... then maybe, just maybe I will find the answer to these questions.


Blessings to all.


356 days to go


All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.