Skeletons in the family closet
A family is a place where many things are shared — a home, beliefs, chores, fond memories and experiences. Many of these we gladly share with outsiders, as we are very proud of them. In some families, however, there are some strange practices and happenings that we don’t share so readily, because an outsider might find it too weird, and perhaps look at us and our entire family differently.
Below some of our readers crack the family closet just a bit, to reveal a family secret they’ve been hiding because people would be freaked out by it if they knew.
NR, student:
One of my cousins, who is just a year older than me, is also my sister. My mother and my aunt both got pregnant for the same man within a year of each other. I even lived with my aunt and my sister/cousin for some time. No one really knows though, because our father is not present in either of our lives.
JB, writer:
I had a crush on my nephew, who was older than me. I was about 10 years old and he was 19.
TN, nail technician:
My aunt took her sister’s man. My other aunt acted as though she was devastated, because she is one of those goody two-shoes Christians. Truth be told, though, she was cheating on the man the entire time.
MB, human resources officer:
I’m a very late bedwetter. My father was one, and I fear that my kids might suffer the same fate. I wet the bed up to about age nine, and my dad confessed that he did too. I even had a few accidents in my 20s.
ML, barkeep:
My uncle molested me between the ages of nine and 12, and when the rest of the family found out, the solution was to send me to the country to live with other relatives. They all knew, but refused to prosecute him. Bear in mind that my family is filled with teachers, nurses, doctors, and even a judge, and they all did nothing.
MK, consultant:
My mom and dad live in the same house, but sleep in separate rooms and use different kitchens, and have not spoken to each other since 1990.
SG, business owner:
My family has a record of cousins dating and only finding out that they are related at family funerals. I have a cousin who, after constantly dating girls in the area and finding out that he is related to them, decided to venture further out for a woman. He met a girl about six communities away from ours and fell in love and had children with her. Then our grand-aunt died and he took the girl to the funeral. The elder relatives soon identified her to be his cousin.
PW, stay-at-home mom:
My sister dropped out of school in grade nine, and for a few years after that did go-go dancing in Ocho Rios. She was still underage, but everyone pretended that it was no big deal, and some family members would tell people that she was an entertainment co-ordinator at a hotel. My mother was too busy with her boyfriends to care. Today my sister is still running the streets, but you’d never know that was the case as the family behaves all close and bonded and holy during Christmas dinners.
