When I read this, I feel for my father. My dad was 52 when I was born. He was older than my grandparents. He fought in WWII; my grandparents were too young. He came from a completely different era to me. He came from a place of scarcity, where girls were to be seen, but not heard. It was tricky for him to raise me.
I was assertive, had leadership skills, I was smart, sometimes loud and I desperately wanted his love and acceptance.
Looking back, he was not being mean by not giving it to me. He simply didn’t have the skills.
I wonder how many other fathers were like this?