I spent years of my life wanting to take revenge on my father because he abandoned me when I needed him the most. When life gave me the chance to do it, I thought twice.
One day I opened the door and I saw someone I didn’t expect. It was my dad. I hadn’t seen him for ages. In fact, I didn’t want to.
“Hi, son. I’m sorry to come like this. I tried to call you but you didn’t answer your phone,” he told me.
“Yeah, what do you want?”
“I was wondering if maybe I could stay with you… I don’t have a place right now, so…”
I found my dad sleeping on the streets. | Source: Pexel
“You can stay. But you have to pay rent.”
“But I don’t have any money at all… and you’re the only person who can help me.”
“I don’t care,” I said, feeling my heart tighten. “You can live on the street. I wish God had taken you instead of mom!”
I slammed the door and my wife was just behind me. She was pissed with what just happened but she had no idea what I went through with this man. She pushed me to tell her, so I did.
It all started when I turned 18. My mom had passed away 2 years before that, so I think my dad was still adapting to taking both roles. He prepared a surprise birthday party and everything. After we celebrated, he asked me what I was planning to do with my living situation and I was like, what the heck?
He told me I was an adult and if I wanted to stay with him in the house, I needed to pay some kind of rent. I was so angry. Pay rent? To my own father?! What’s wrong with him?
My dad prepared a surprise birthday party for me. | Source: Pexel
He continued with his argument saying that was normal and I had to grow up. When I told him I’d rather live in a dorm in college than pay him rent, he said he couldn’t afford college and I had to pay for it myself. That I should either get a job or a loan.
“I felt betrayed, Julie. I didn’t expect that. That’s why I left,” I told my wife.
Julie said my father reached out to her a few days earlier and that she gave him our address. That’s right, she didn’t tell me anything either…
I got into an argument with my wife because of my dad. | Source: Pexel
And then, she suggested I forgive my father. “It’s been years,” she said.
But no. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to forgive him. He was the one who threw me out like some kind of stray dog. “No, Julie, I work 24/7 to at least, eat normally. And he? He just abandoned me! No forgiveness!” I told her.
“Come on, honey, he’s your father!”
“So what? You don’t know! You don’t understand… Only my mom truly loved me. And she would have never allowed him to kick me out of my own house and…”
In the heat of our fight, I stepped out and went for a walk. | Source: Pexel
“Nick,” Julie interrupted me, “do you know your father’s side of the story? I mean you lost your mom but he lost his wife… Have you thought about how this affected him as well?”
“You know what? THAT’S ENOUGH!” I shouted, “I don’t want to hear it!! I’m done…”
Julie almost burst into tears. We barely fought and I knew she was trying to help me. I decided to get some fresh air and went for a walk.
I saw a man sleeping on a bench and I recognized him. | Source: Pexel
When I passed by some benches, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I spotted a man sleeping on one but I thought it was a hobo. But I looked a second time and I knew I knew him from somewhere… it was my dad!
“Dad, wake up! Are you OK?”
He woke up straight away, “Nick, is that you?!”
“Yes, dad, I’m really sorry! I just…”
“I just wanted you to do good in life and…”
“Shh, easy dad, that’s okay, that’s okay.”
He burst into tears. “I thought if you had to pay rent then maybe… maybe you would move on. I wanted to help you, son. You were just sitting on the couch. You weren’t doing anything.” He continued, visibly emotional, “I wanted to motivate you to get a job and live your life.”
My dad got emotional when I found him. | Source: Pexel
“I know I couldn’t pay for your college because I invested the money into my business and… I was gonna give the business to you. But I lost everything, Nick.”
I finally understood what Julie meant. His part of the story. Everything he did was with good intentions. So I couldn’t leave him like that. I knew I was the only person he had left.
“No, dad,” I replied. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have stayed on the couch and achieved nothing. You pushed me for good and I needed to get out of my comfort zone.”
“Yes, that’s what I wanted, Nick.”
“I know, dad. But I didn’t see it that way. I thought you betrayed me. But because you did what you did, now I have a great job and a beloved family. And that’s all thanks to you!”
He was so happy when we decided to forgive each other. | Source: Pexel
“I know I did a lot of things… I know I hurt you, son. Can you forgive me?”
“No, it’s you who should forgive me, dad!” Suddenly, I felt something shifting inside of me. I had been practicing meditation a lot and one of them was about forgiveness. I could never truly forgive my father before, but that day, I did it. Finally.
I started to practice meditation to forgive my father. | Source: Pexel
“I’ve held this anger for so many years… And I’ve tried different things to get rid of it. But now I understand… I was wrong.” I stood up and took him by the hand. “Let’s go home, dad. We have a lot to talk about…”
“Thank you, son. I love you! I’ve always loved you!”
“You’ll be a grandfather!”
“Wait, what? Is Julie pregnant?!”
My dad would soon become a grandfather. | Source: Unsplash
What can we learn from this story?
- We should always appreciate our parents. We are all humans and we make mistakes. We never know what kind of sacrifices they went through for us.
- Forgiveness can set one free. Nick was holding grudges against his father for so many years and he felt free when he forgave the man.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire good deeds.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who forced her stepdaughter to become a golddigger.
This account is inspired by our reader’s story but written by a professional writer. All names have been changed to protect identities and ensure privacy. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.
Сlаudiа Саrdinаlе: Неrе’s whаt thе Itаliаn film iсоn lооks likе аt 85
Claudia Cardinale is Italy’s counterpart to France’s Brigitte Bardot. She quickly rose to stardom to almost just as quickly disappear from the scene later on. Now, Claudia Cardinale celebrates her 85th birthday.
The Italian star was originally discovered at a beauty contest held in 1957 by the Unitalia film company. The “most beautiful Italian woman of Tunis” subsequently won a trip to the Venice Film Festival that was to become a decisive turning point in her life. The sultry young woman was born on April 15, 1938, in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Her mother was French, and her father Italian.
In 1958, Cardinale, known as CC, played her first role in “Goha” opposite Omar Sharif before being trained as an actress at the Italian Film Academy in Rome. Her talents as an actress renowned for her dauntless rambunctiousness gained her fame, and her gaze into the camera became legendary.
Famous director Luchino Visconti gave her minor roles in “Rocco and his Brothers” (1960), as well as in the historical drama “The Leopard” (1962) with Alain Delon. As she later recounted in a biographical interview, she rebuffed all of her famous film partners, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Marcello Mastroianni, Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster.
A beauty queen turned into a film diva
Cardinale is Italy’s counterpart of Brigitte Bardot. But in contrast to Bardot, Cardinale never appeared nude in a film: “I always thought it was more erotic to leave some room to imagination, hinting at things rather than showing everything,” she told the German magazine Stern in 2014.
CC achieved her breakthrough with her performance in the highly popular Italo western “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1969). The classical western directed by Sergio Leone and starring Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson was shot in Rome’s Cinecittà studios and in Spain with some scenes set in Utah’s Monument Valley. The film that flopped in the US only acquired cult status in Europe.
CC’s career already saw a downswing in the 1970s. She then turned to television films, especially entertainment films where she showed some talent as a comedian. She got her last main role in a movie in 1971 when she starred opposite her main rival, Brigitte Bardot, in the Italo western comedy “Frenchie King.”
Spending time in a jungle with Werner Herzog
Ten years later, CC starred in German director Werner Herzog’s historical film “Fitzcarraldo” (1981). Although Claudia Cardinale had a difficult time enduring the bouts of anger of her eccentric film partner Klaus Kinski, she greatly enjoyed shooting and working with director Werner Herzog: “Being in the middle of the jungle with insects all around me and nothing to eat was one of my most wonderful adventures,” she later stated.
Claudia Cardinale and other heroines of European film
Claudia Cardinale is seen as Italy’s counterpart to France’s Brigitte Bardot. The actress who became a star in the 1950s and 60s now celebrates her 85th birthday.
Claudia Cardinale
She’s the youngest of Italy’s three major female stars. Claudia Cardinale worked with outstanding directors like Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini. She fascinated audiences with her charming smile and acting skills in westerns, among them “Once Upon a Time in the West” and “The Professionals” (pictured).
Gina Lollobrigida
One of the most highly acclaimed European stars of the 1950s and 60s was Gina Lollobrigida who was born in the East of Rome in 1927. “Lollo” even made it to Hollywood where she was equally showered with praise. In the 1970s, however, she withdrew from showbiz.
Sophia Loren
Another Italian actress, Sophia Loren, who was a few years younger than Lollo, became her fiercest rival. The mutual hatred and jealousy of the two stars was a frequent topic in tabloids. In contrast to Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren continued to perform in movies even as an older woman.
Brigitte Bardot
During the same time, another sexpot rose to stardom in France with movies like “And God Created Woman” and “Love is my Profession.” Brigitte Bardot, the superstar of the Grande Nation, withdrew from film production in the 1970s to devote herself to animal rights causes.
Catherine Deneuve
A decade later, Bardot’s compatriot Catherine Deneuve broke onto the film scene. Deneuve differed much from both Loren and Lollo by playing roles as aloof and myterious women early in her career. Deneueve’s talent as an actress guaranteed her success throughout her life.
Romy Schneider
The two decades between 1960 and 1980 were also the golden era of German-French actress Romy Schneider. Born in Vienna, she made her breakthrough in the German-speaking world as “Sissi” before moving to France. In Paris, she became one of the most charismatic and impressive actresses of European film scene. But in her private life, she was anything but lucky. She died in 1982.
Penélope Cruz
One of the most famous Europen actresses in recent decades is Spanish actress Penélope Cruz. Cruz started her career in her home country before achieving fame in other European countries and, finally, Hollywood. Her performances received a lot of acclaim, especially in films by director Pedro Almodóvar, among them “Volver” (pictured).
Irene Papas
After 1945, actresses from smaller European nations were able to conquer the hearts of audiences across Europe. One of them was Irene Papas who is also renowned as a singer in her home country, Greece. She celebrated her biggest success in “Zorba the Greek” (1964) before also working in other European countries, and in Hollywood.
Tatjana Samoilova
While films from Italy, France, Germany and England dominated the film scene during the postwar era, it should not be forgotten that eastern Europe had much to offer too. One of the biggest female stars of Russian film was certainly Tatjana Samoilova who achieved world fame with the movie “The Cranes are Flying” (1957).
Krystyna Janda
Polish actress Krystyna Janda became known in the 1970s for her performances in films by Polish director Andrzej Wajda. She then performed in international co-productions with stars like Lino Ventura. In her home country, Krystyna Janda is also known as a singer and an an author.
In 1993, CC received a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival to be followed in 2002 by an “honorary bear” at the Berlinale. The spirited actress performed in more than 100 films.
In 2017, CC once again drew attention at an international film festival. A photo depicting her as a young actress embellished a placard in Cannes where she had often been invited as an honorary guest. On April 15, Claudia Cardinale will turn 80. Happy birthday!
This article was originally published April 15, 2018 and updated.
Leave a Reply