Ryder’s 18th birthday should have been a memorable day, but his father’s absence left him feeling disappointed. Instead of celebrating with his son, his father chose to go on a fishing trip with friends, leaving Ryder devastated and questioning their relationship.
Growing up, Ryder’s life was normal until his parents started arguing when he was seven. By eight, his father was no longer living at home. Ryder vividly remembers his mother explaining the divorce, reassuring him that it wasn’t his fault. After the split, his mom worked hard as an elementary school teacher to provide for him, while his dad became more of a distant figure, often preoccupied with hobbies and weekends spent fishing.
As Ryder approached his 18th birthday, he hoped his father would finally prioritize him. He planned a small party with his mom and friends and even sent a message to his dad. When his father responded with: “I’ll try to be there”, Ryder felt a flicker of hope. However, on the big day, despite all the decorations and a cake baked by his mom, his father didn’t show up.
After waiting hours without any contact from his dad, Ryder called him, only to learn that he was still on the lake, seemingly indifferent to his son’s special day. Ryder felt crushed and hid in his room until his mom found him. He struggled to mask his disappointment, feeling invisible and unimportant.
A week later, his father called, offering to give Ryder a gift. Despite his anger, Ryder agreed to visit. When he arrived, his dad handed him a shiny fishing rod, a gift that felt more like a reminder of his absence than a thoughtful present. Ryder felt betrayed, realizing that his father would never truly prioritize him. When his dad invited him to join a fishing trip with friends, Ryder politely declined, knowing deep down that their relationship would never change.
As he left, holding the fishing rod, Ryder felt a shift within himself. He recognized he didn’t need to chase after someone who didn’t want to be there for him. In the months that followed, he focused on the people who truly cared—his mom and friends. He threw himself into music, practicing the guitar and helping his mom around the house to show his appreciation.
One evening, while washing dishes, his mom asked if he had heard from his father. Ryder shook his head, feeling at peace with his decision to stop waiting. His mom expressed sadness about their relationship, but Ryder reassured her that having her support was more than enough.
Over time, Ryder learned that his self-worth wasn’t dependent on his father’s attention. His experiences taught him an important lesson: sometimes, people won’t fulfill your expectations, and that’s okay. The fishing rod remains in his closet as a reminder not of what he lost, but of what he gained: self-respect, resilience, and the ability to move on from what he couldn’t change.
15 Tattoos You Don’t Want to Have No Matter What
Everyone makes decisions differently about getting tattoos. Some people take a long time to think everything through and some people decide to do it spontaneously and emotionally. Most people from our compilation are probably spontaneous. But sometimes, even if you are careful with choosing your tattoos, you still might get a controversial one like the guy in the last picture.Bright Side came across several tattoos that made our eyebrows go up.“The sketch I made for my tattoo vs What I ended up with”
Treble clef tattoo
Her tattoo says “fresh spring rolls” in Thai.
“My wife and I had matching tattoos planned. I went first, hers was scheduled for a week after that. That was 4 days ago, 2 days ago we decided to get a divorce due to obviously unforeseen unfortunate circumstances. I’m an idiot.”
“My friend got a tattoo.”
And where are the legs?
“My friend bought a tattoo gun on amazon for £100. Tattooed Darth Vader on himself.”
“A friend of mine got a tattoo of some flowers, looks… Great!”
“So my buddy’s step-sister got a tattoo of her mother…”
“My awesome Star Wars tattoo”
“A buddy of mine has a friend who gave himself this in the 8th grade.”
“Okay, there may be a typo here…”
What’s up with these poor animals?
Well, this word is not easy to spell, so…
A guy got the same tattoo as the dog he got. It turned out that the tattoo means that the dog was neutered.
Later, the man said that he knew what the tattoo meant. He just wanted to do something for his dog to reinforce their connection. “My dog is always with me now.” We probably wouldn’t have done the same.
Have you ever gotten a bad tattoo that you regret? Tell us about it in the comment section below!
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