Whether or not you have children, you may have that back to school feeling as the summer ends. With the new school year, we usually have a sense of a new start. Our children have just gone back to school and university in the UK. We will be going back to our “normal” routine. Circumstances arose that meant that I have had to make a new start by saying sorry.
Before our children left, one of them let me know that the mistakes of my past had had profound affects. For the third time, I found myself apologising for not being emotionally available to my children when they were small. I had been too wrapped up in my own problems of recovering from my childhood. What I needed to do was love myself.
A Little Apology Goes a Long Way
Saying sorry to your children may not be something that you feel you want to do. However, I highly recommend it. In my own case, my family of origin was so dysfunctional that it took me decades to recover. An apology and open communication would have gone a long way for me. And it may have saved my children from the pain I subsequently caused them. In fact it was only in my parents’ last years on this earth that I was able to forgive them.
That is why I am so happy for saying sorry to 3 of my 4 children so far. My apology not only sets me free. In forgiving me, they are able to move on with their lives. Their own children and grandchildren have a much better chance of a happy childhood as a result.
Attached are some examples of apologies you might consider making to anyone you have hurt, including your children.
While we are on the topic of saying sorry, here is a list of some people you might want to forgive as well:
