Mezla PigDog, on 19 December 2015 - 05:09 PM, said:
Sombra is closest to the mark but since I am not quite as good at being ruthless as he is (

) I need to go through some agony to get there. And in this case I think I can do a Fritzl as I don't even know what continent my dad lives on and neither do any of his other living relatives. He's most likely either in the UK or the Philippines. I think he's still married to a woman in Nigeria but I'm not entirely sure. It's a looooong story and takes a lifetime of dysfunction to get to this point but despite the fact that I don't know where he is he can still get to me by email. The main reason for the estrangement is a lifetime of emotional manipulation caused by him being a drunken prick. Since 2008 my "relationship" with him has been based entirely on the line "You're welcome to drop me an email when you are sober and we'll take it from there". I don't want to cut that line off in case he actually does ever sort himself out. Cutting a parent who is an addict out of your life is very very tough on the heart strings. It's kind of death by a thousand cuts as opposed to someone doing something so awful that they must be cut off immediately. I get the odd email from him each year trying to smoke me out with some of his trademark emotional blackmail and it always leads to a few days of misery and guilt where I have a serious think about whether to relent. If he had the grandkid card to play then it would be even harder.
So considering I am pretty much set on not telling him the weak link in the plan is my aunt who I am only in touch with via FB. Despite the FB hate I am a fan of the platform if not the way the average joe uses it. I have lived in 7 different towns/cities since 2001 and I have friends all over the country and virtually none in my current home town (operation desperate-search-for-friends-for maternity-leave is currently in the advanced planning stage) so I use FB to stay in touch with a lot of people and see their kids who I only see a couple of times a year grow up. I'm not ashamed to admit that I want to join in now I'm in the same boat. Plus both families live about 200 miles away so they will want to use FB to stay involved too. Those of you here who are my FB friends may need to cull me at some point soon

I need to cull my aunt but despite having cut my dad out of my life I really don't want to be the type of person who makes a habit of this kind of thing. So I'm procrastinating and complaining about it here. Other social media platforms and groups have been considered but the relative age range to stay in touch with is 16 to 80!
It's going to have to be the hermit option. It's the easiest way

Seems to me by going to all this trouble, to keep your dad from knowing, that you let him have a big, negative impact on your life. If I was you - put it out there, on FB, that you are happy to share the good news that you are pregnant. Don't mention your dad at all. Then sit still and wait. So, likely he will get to hear about it... then, maybe, he will be in touch. At which point you tell him that you are happy to forward the odd 'official' photo and that he may brag about being a granddad if he wants to but that that is as far as it goes. Tell him that he may have forgotten that part of parent's job description is that they will look after their children. Just because he failed to do so does not mean that you are going to do the same. Just tell him. Rather than thinking of it as the weak link, your baby will be what will give you the strength to be firm with him.
I know someone who is keeping his mother away from her granddaughter - the mother is also an addict. He refuses to set his daughter up to experience the kind of heartache which he experienced. Don't let your dad spoil things. You should be able to share the anticipation of your baby's birth with your friends and family. And you should get their sympathy for feeling so unwell so much of the time.
Also... people will need to start knitting - now!
This post has been edited by Egwene: 20 December 2015 - 12:00 PM