Family Secrets

Had a surreal conversation with my mother recently. We were talking about several things as long conversations generally do ramble. We talked about certain now-deceased relatives and some recently discovered family secrets. We both agreed that it was silly to be so secretive, that so much energy was wasted keeping them and we both wondered aloud how keeping the secrets affected the family members involved.

The conversation was enlightening because it was refreshing to see that my beloved ancestors were human, just like we all are today. Why is there always this myth that our relatives have blameless lives? It also made me see a generational path that led to my giving away my son.

But the kicker was that not once during the conversation, which at times touched on my daughter, my life as her mother, etc., did my mother bring up or ask about my son. Apparently he's (still) just another family secret.