Honor Thy Mother and Father

It's one of the big ten.

And today is the 20th anniversary of my father's death.

The man who made it quite clear he wanted his gay kid out of the house pronto.

The man with the arsenal I thought he would use to commit an honor killing.

The man who caused me to burn my bridges and leave Houston.

The man who made sure the cousins on my mother's side got a little something from my grandmother while I got zilch because, thanks to his antics, he could say that I was unable to be located.

I could say more, but I think you get the idea.

Oh, yeah.  He beat me up on occasion.

There, we're done.

So what to I do?

I ask G-d to understand my feelings on the matter, and give me the strength to either forgive or let the wounds heal with the passage of time.

And we go from there.