My Father Said Almost Nothing

Dear Delyara, I saw my father today. He asked practical questions. How work was. Whether the car was okay. If I needed anything. The conversation stayed on safe ground, as it usually does. And still, on the drive home, I cried. It’s so difficult to explain the grief of loving someone who does care, but not always in the language you need most. He has probably loved me all my life in ways he understands very well. I just don’t always know how to receive them without wanting something more. Maybe some relationships are built on translation. Maybe that’s why they can feel both full and lacking at the same time.