"dad" in the Big Book

Family confidence in dad is rising high.

Sometimes they demand that dad bring them back instantly!

Dad may be tired at night and preoccupied by day.

But dad doesn’t give freely of himself.

The family must realize that dad, though marvelously improved, is still convalescing.

As soon as his sobriety begins to be taken as a matter of course, the family may look at their strange new dad with apprehension, then with irritation.

They may be jealous of a God who has stolen dad’s affections.

Dad is not so spiritual after all, they say.

Many of us have experienced dad’s elation.

If the family cooperates, dad will soon see that he is suffering from a distortion of values.

If the family will appreciate that dad’s current behavior is but a phase of his development, all will be well.

In the midst of an understanding and sympathetic family, these vagaries of dad’s spiritual infancy will quickly disappear.

Dad may feel that for years his drinking has placed him on the wrong side of every argument, but that now he has become a superior person with God on his side.

Though the family does not fully agree with dad’s spiritual activities, they should let him have his head.

some of his manifestations are alarming and disagreeable, we think dad will be on a firmer foundation than the man who is placing business or professional success ahead of spiritual development.

The family may feel they hold a mortgage on dad, so big that no equity should be left for outsiders.

This may hang on for months, long after their mother has accepted dad’s new way of living and thinking.