Katharina Buczek
But her grandfather was her confidant and made everything better. He assured her that her father would have just wanted everyone in the family to be happy.
At the same time, her grandpa pointed out how “being happy” did not necessarily mean John had to have a bigger role in her life than “stepdad.”
So, even after John entered the family, she always considered her grandpa to be the primary male role model and father figure in her life.
Sure, she did grow to like her new stepdad. But he could never replace her dad.
Eventually, though, by the time she was 11-years-old, her mom and John started having children of their own. And it was at this point that her grandfather became “public enemy number one” in her mother and stepdad’s eyes.
“He didn’t step in and act as a grandfather to them, and he didn’t go out of his way to be in their family,” she explained.
Yes, her grandpa was kind whenever he saw her half-siblings. But, he just did not view them as adoptive or surrogate grandchildren whatsoever. And her mom and John found that really unfair.
So, now that she is getting married about 20 years after the loss of her dad, she decided to sit her mom and John down to talk about her wedding.
More specifically, she revealed how her grandpa would take on the role of “father of the bride” and walk her down the aisle.
This apparently shocked her mom and her stepdad, and they wanted to know why she had not chosen John for that role. John also claimed that he was the one who had raised her throughout her preteen and teenage years and that he would have adopted her at the drop of a hat if she wanted that.
So, John believed that he was technically the person who filled the “father” role in her life.
