My brother's offhand comment about the Bechtel job in 2008 hit different last week

We were talking about how he pulled 80 hour weeks framing houses and he said 'sorry I never made it to your soccer finals.' I always held a grudge about that but now I run a tree service and I've missed my kid's stuff too. Has anyone else had an old apology they never gave suddenly make sense years later?

3 comments

3 Comments

violaramirez1mo ago

Stop trying to make old grudges sound deep, it was just a soccer game.

robins831mo ago

Yeah that "silent deal" thing miles_hall said really got me. I remember being pissed at my old man for missing my baseball games but now I've straight up had to tell my own kid "daddy can't make it" more times than I'd like to admit. It's like you don't really get it until you're the one making that choice.

miles_hall1mo ago

First apology you never gave hits different around year 27 or 28 when you start realizing nobody tells you about the invisible trade-offs. Everyone talks about working hard but nobody warns you that every hour at work is an hour you won't get back with someone you love. It's like we all agree to this silent deal where we trade time for money and just hope nobody keeps score.