but they tell me that it wasn't like that and that they were always there for me.

This is the kind of bullshit my dad would say ALL. THE. FUCKING. TIME. I eventually exploded on him, asking him "WHEN? FUCKING TELL ME WHEN? GIVE ME A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF SOME WAY YOU WERE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN MY CHILDHOOD BEYOND SITTING ON THE COUCH AND IGNORING ME" The best he could come up with is he once supervised my grade 1 class at swimming lessons. So like, the only fucking example you can come up with is something you did for a couple days a week for like a month when I was 6 years old? Well I guess you deserve father of the decade award for that.

After that he doesn't really pull that bullshit anymore. I'm pretty sure he still thinks he was a very involved parent and was there all the time for me but he just can't remember specific examples, and I'm just being ungrateful. But at least he doesn't say that shit anymore.