I told my daughter about my past - children are amazing!

I wrote a post a few days ago about how I was apprehensive about telling my daughter (14 yrs old) about my past. I used to be addicted to drugs and alcohol (mostly alcohol), was orphaned from birth and lived on the streets as a kid and went through some physical and sexual abuse. I started drinking heavily and doing drugs when I was 14. Became sober when I was 20 and my ex was pregnant. We were both addicts and unfortunately, she relapsed when our daughter was a baby and took off for a decade.She's now back and as you can imagine, it's something we are finding hard to come to grips with. Since her bio mum's reemergence, my daughter has been very interested about my childhood and the country I come from (Ghana). Because of what happened when I was a kid, I haven't been back to Ghana since I left the country for Germany to study when I was 18. I'll always be Ghanian, but there are too many painful memories from my childhood. Memories I suppressed.As a result, my daughter didn't really know much about Ghana and she became very curious. She complained to her stepmother that she felt like wasn't half Ghanaian because she knew so little about the place, and that her best friend, who is also of multi-national and biracial descent, knew about where her non-German parent came from. I was apprehensive initially, about letting her know, not just because it's something I always kept close to my chest, but also because I feared her reaction. I thought she would see me differently if she knew that I was once an addict. But I finally decided to take the plunge and I'm so glad.My daughter loves playing sports. When playing in a team, she's so passionate - always shouting commands to her teammates. She had athletics training last night (a 100m and 200m specialist - always finishes first on sports day). After training I took her out for some pizza and ice cream. We went for a walk after and we talked. I told her about how I was orphaned, growing up on the streets, being a drug and alcohol addict. I told her there was some abuse, but didn't get into the details. I told her that because of her bio mother and I, she may be genetically predisposed to addiction and that she should be careful when she grows up. But I also told her that if she did fall into dungeons of addiction, to NEVER be afraid to tell me and that I would support her 100%. I emphasized the importance of support - I lost a good friend a few years back to suicide because he hid his addiction from everyone, and when it got real tough, he felt like he had no one to turn to.My daughter told me she was proud of me for getting through all that, and that I shouldn't actually hide my history, because it's something to take inspiration in. All that fear and apprehension was for nothing, really. She reacted very well to it. This morning at breakfast she gave me a hug outta nowhere. When I asked her why she said she was proud of me. Later on she wants me to teach her a few words from my ethnic tribe. English is national language in Ghana but there are many historical tribes with their own language.I gotta say I feel really good right now. Not just for helping my daughter know herself more, but also because it was good to get that off my chest - especially to the greatest gift I have ever received.Just wanted to give an update to those that asked on the last thread. Have a great weekend, all! via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2r6aNNt