Admitting when your wrong

My parents threw a dinner party on Saturday and the featured guests were my Aunt and husband (my Mom's sister). I figured it would have been awkward after the surprise dinner for Grandma and the fact we haven't talked in almost 8 years. Dinner was ok but awkward in a different way. They both talked horrible about my cousins (her 3 children). Everything they did wrong growing up, what they are doing wrong now, and how they were fed up with it. Nothing was positive!

Today my dad and I emailed back and forth about the weekend. I asked if he and mom talked so horrible about us to their friends. If everything they had to say about us was a bad memory. His response was surprising. See below...

No, we do not talk shit about our children. We all 4 had our own problems. Any problems we had with you and Robert were mostly me and moms fault. We were too busy worrying about our own shit, our own problems, or our jobs, and we pretty much didn’t pay much attention to much else. That is the fault of the parents. And I admit it. learn from that with your own children. That once you turn your back on your kid, especially a teenager, than you are in for trouble. I did that to my parents because they didn’t care, mom did it to her mom, and you did it to us. Fair is fair. *end of email*

If you knew anything about my dad or the relationship we had while I was a teenager you would be shocked and surprised that he admitted doing something wrong. I'm going to learn from his mistakes and take his words of wisdom to heart. I think this is first piece of advice he has ever given and I'm thankful!