People Reveal 12 Of Their Most Uncomfortable Family Secrets In This Online Group
Article Created by: Jurgita DominauskaitÄ
Every family has some secrets. Sometimes the adults wanting to protect young children donāt tell them everything that is going on and when the children grow up, they are in a little bit of a shock to realize that they didnāt know some of the important things about their families. But some of the things can get really dark and could be a little bit too much for a child to handle.
Reddit user Flash_Dimension asked other users “Once you were old enough, what were the dark family secrets you were finally let in on?” And people really didnāt hold back spilling all the beans. Some of the stories are darker than others. Bored Panda compiled a list of the most interesting and surprising family secrets that people have shared.
More info: Reddit
My father was a dentist as was his step father. They shared an office until my grandfather died when I was 5. Dad practiced in the front office while the older back office was kept in pristine shape but unused as far as I could tell. I thought it was out of some kind of respect for his step mother who continued to live above it.
Many years later I was comparing old dental instruments scavenged from his office with my younger brother. I showed him a giant curved forcep wondering what the hell he used that for. āOh, didnāt you know he used to do abortions in the rear officeā?
I didnāt but a lot of pieces finally fell into place; the late nights at the office, the cash and often bartered items that patients often paid with.
I was too innocent I suppose as I left for college to be let in on his secret but my younger stay at home brother was not.
Shock was quickly overcome with pride and joy. Thereās nothing good about illegal abortions except when they are desperately desired by the people with the most need and the least means. My father had a reputation for kindness and flexibility in billing. If you needed work done, it would get done and best of all done well by all accounts, āsee this temporary bridge, Doc put that in 15 years ago and I ever had to go backā. He was an unhappy dentist with a surgeonās hands but surgery was not an option for Black men in the 40s. I imagine that he provided high quality health services to hundreds of women who otherwise might have ended up in the ER or worse.
(Anti-abortionists, please hold your fire, itās just a memory and reflection)
Not very much a secret, but took me until I was older to understand what was happening.
My mom would sometimes have us play a game called āarmyā which consisted of me, my mom, and my siblings army crawling around our apartment. Kind of a hide n seek style game. She would yell āhit the deck!ā randomly and we would all drop and find a hiding spot. We would giggle and giggle while my mom army crawled around looking for us. We loved the game so much.
I realized a few years ago while retelling the story that we lived in a really terrible neighborhood, and she would yell it out when she heard gunshots outside the building. Iām assuming she was worried about stray bullets.
Edit: I shared everyoneās amazing comments with my mom, and she shed a tear. She feels very appreciated on international womanās day today!
My cousins lived with us for a while and we thought that was fun because it’s like a sleep over every day. One time our mom even took us out of school to pick them up.
I learned later that it was because child protective services took my cousins away from their mom because of mental health issues. My mom offered to take her sister’s kids until she got her mental health back in order.
My cousins live with their mom now and their mom is in a much better condition mentally.
My dad used to send me birthday cards every year when I was a young girl (my mother left my dad while pregnant with me for good reason), even though I never got to meet him when I was young I was glad to still receive a card from him with a few bucks acknowledging I was alive and that he did one day want to see me.
Around 14-15 I learned that my mother had written every single one of those letters and my grandfather would mail it to ourselves to make it seem legit. I never ever actually received any letter from him.
Edit: I didnāt expect this comment to blow up as I slept but I wanted to answer a few questions that I got!
My dad was a pretty terrible guy. Without airing all my familyās dirty laundry, he was a sexual abuser. I did eventually meet him two times: once at my auntās funeral at 17 where he wrote me a long letter about how he wished he was better, and once when I was 19 when he tried to establish a relationship. He gave me terrible vibes and I never answered his attempts to reach out after that, and Iām happier this way.
My mom raised 2 kids by herself. Unfortunately my family has its issues. My family suffers from alcoholism and my mother has deep mental health issues. Growing up with her wasnāt always easy and still isnāt now ā some days she is lucid and a wonderful mother. Other days sheās violent and unstable. But I know deep down inside her where she is well and unafflicted by her illness she is an incredible mother and kind. I just have to accept that she is unwell and try to remember good times. My family and I are estranged these days but it makes me want to work harder to be a stable and loving mother if I do become one someday. At the end of everything I do still love my mom and am thankful she shielded me from him.
Thank you guys. Iām so sorry to read your stories of similar things happening to you. My inbox is always open if anyone ever needs to talk/vent. Be well everyone.
My grandmotherās first husband was extremely abusive, but this was the 60s and he hid it well. She couldnāt file for divorce without proof of injury, so she beat herself in the face with a slipper to get away. She was 21 or 22 or so- with 3 young children. Iām 23 right now and I could never imagine. She was such a strong lady, I miss her!
My grandma retired and she still decided to work for her brother in his restaurant to save up money for when she dies. Funerals are, obviously, expensive. She insisted he would hold on to her paychecks and pay for her funeral when she dies. He never did.
That my cousin was actually my half-brother. Mom got pregnant in college and my aunt and uncle adopted him. And, that my dad wasn’t my biological father. Mom and dad got divorced, she got pregnant by another man, and my dad wasn’t able to have kids of his own so they got remarried and he raised me as his own.
My father got my mother pregnant when he was her teacher in high school. He was thirty and married. She was fifteen and his student. They ran off together, he got a divorce, and they got married in a state that allowed marriage at 16, two months before my older brother was born.
