I thought I expressed that I'm very thankful towards my aunt... The idea was to praise her for her consideration. That we weren't in touch is just a fact, and that came from both sides - neither I nor her did much work there. And right now, she's the one seeking the contact and maintaining the relationship more than I do, so I'm quite thankful.

And yes, it's an isolating experience. But I do have some fathers around me that went through similar experiences. Not to the same extend, but that's not necessary to be able to connect and feel understood.