Dad

My Dad came down last weekend to do some house work, my garage door wasn't working, my shower was leaking etc. Just little things but he is my "landlord" He honestly has not come down since the first major trip when he put in a shower when we first bought the house so it was nice for him to come see what all needs to be done. After just spending 6 hours with my dad I realized we are a lot more alike than I remembered and that scares me. We are both serious people pleasers who try to avoid conflicts to the point where we are unhappy. This also leads us to hold up all of our anger and just take getting yelled at whenever something goes wrong without arguing. We also enjoy a lot of the same things, would much rather read a book than watch tv, enjoy working on things (fixing stuff, hands on projects) and can never sit still. These are not bad things in any way, however being so much like my father, which everyone points out who knows both of my parents well, is scary because of the man who he's become lately. He has always been a hardworker, spending several extra hours a night at work making sure everything is done perfectly, not a bad quality. The part that worries me is my dads family history, he is one of 5 boys, 7 kids in all. 3 of his brothers have had DWIs, 2 of them have had 3 DWIs. My Dad has also begun to drink A LOT and for him if he gets a DWI he looses his job, they frown upon teachers getting DWIs. This is probably my biggest reason for never getting drunk, I enjoy drinking but avoid having more than 3 drinks a night because secretly I'm afraid I'll end up an alcoholic. Also I'm worried about being like my father is because he cheated on my mom and abandoned his family. I see my father maybe once or twice a year and I hate this because we use to be extremely close, I was a Daddys girl to an extreme until I turned 16 and he cheated on my mom and moved out. I am worried that I will getting married and at some point leave my family for another man. I love my Dad but am worried about becoming more like him and his bad qualities than for the good qualities that I once saw in him.

Although this weekend did make me realize that inspite of all his faults he is still a wonderful man and I do love him for being my Dad. I just wish that we were closer. I see my mom at least twice a month and if we don't talk on the phone we text daily, several times. I wish I had at least a little bit of that with my Dad. He is always willing to help with any serious issues (he spent several days researching my garage door being broken) but unless I need him to help with something he is never around.