For reasons I won't go in to I haven't seen or heard from my three sons in over 11 years. Today I received an email from my oldest. It was a very brief message basically asking if I am his father.
For reasons I won't go in to I agonized over whether or not to reply to that email. Doing so meant the possibility of opening a can of worms I am not yet in a position to deal with, but not doing so would hurt me in a very personal way. Most fathers would understand the latter if they knew the specifics.
After much thought and agonizing I did send a reply. Now I am on pins and needles to see what sort of response I will receive. While I feel that I may have opened that can of worms I just couldn't ignore that email. I just hope that I won't live to regret it.