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I Love My Parents

This might turn out to be a long read.

My parents were wonderful to my brother and I. How they managed to put up with us little shits is beyond me. lol But having found out what lives they had before they met each other is mind blowing to say the least. I`ll start with my father. He was married before and had three children with his first wife. He grew up on a dairy farm that was lost because of the depression. He then decided to enlist in the army to help out financially. His then wife told him in no uncertain terms that if he joined the army she would leave him. He did and she left him. Taking the three kids with her and filed for divorce. When he got out of the army he couldn`t find his children anywhere. Apparently she got remarried and moved away.

Our mother was born out west with a total of 16 siblings. Moved to Ontario with her sister. Our mother was married to an abuser from what we`ve heard. She had two children with him. She wanted out of the marriage which he agreed to. But in those days a woman had a hard time looking after one child, let alone two. So the courts granted him with custody which wasn`t long after he put them up for adoption. In today`s phrasing "they cramped his style" Her heart must have been crushed if she knew about it.

My brother and I knew none of this until they day of her funeral. My aunt who is known for her big mouth. (my fathers words for her) lol When hearing this we all just stood there dumbfounded. It took some digging on my wife`s part because she does genealogy to get some answers. It was true. It was like a punch in the chest knowing what our parents had been through.
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SW-User
Perhaps they never told the story because there are things better left unsaid.
Best part is, they focused on loving you.
Degbeme · 70-79, M
@SW-User What my mother especially went though just makes me wish I`d known and maybe, just maybe she could have seen them before she passed away.
SW-User
@Degbeme Maybe she just wanna spare you from sharing her sufferings. I never saw my mom cried when my father left us. It's cowardice. She taught us to be brave when life whipped us. She only cried when he died to share her grief about the loss of her first & last love. Mothers know best for their children's feelings. I'm sure your mom had valid reasons for keeping a part of her life from you.
Degbeme · 70-79, M
@SW-User My brother an I will never know now. 😟
SW-User
@Degbeme I'm sorry. We have a half sister from my father's nomadic way and only found her through social media research.