It’s not easy being a lonely man of sixty, without a wife, without a girlfriend, and with children all grown up and with families of their own. I am also lonely, but my sons don’t understand that. They did not communicate with me much before, but after I had a woman in my life whom I wanted to look after and with whom I wanted to live out my old age, both sons began to scold me for striving for love.
My youngest son and I didn’t get along for a long time. He was a very cocky but good-looking guy, which caused him to have girls running after him since he was a teenager. It got to the point where, before he had a real official wife and family, he had two more children with some strangers. He keeps it a secret, ashamed to tell anyone, because it spoils his reputation. And the fact that I am dating someone at sixty, he also considers it something shameful.
– You’re old now, it’s a shame to date women at your age,” he said when he found out I was happy with someone other than his dead mother. – Leave her immediately and concentrate on your grandchildren!
He gave me a choice: either his and his brother’s families with grandchildren or my girlfriend. It was impossible to explain, impossible to find a compromise, and now the kids had stopped calling me altogether. The older one used to be neutral, but the younger one constantly turns him against me, and now they both hate me.
Lately I have been feeling more and more like I am cheating on my kids with a woman I like. I’ve traded them in for personal happiness when I should be a diligent grandfather and help with my grandchildren, since there’s no one else. My new love keeps me going, but it’s like it’s not enough. It would be so much better to have my family around, but I know that’s not going to happen. Even before I had a girlfriend, they weren’t very eager to see me.
