Stories that Bind Response

I remember the day that I found out my mom used to be bulimic when she was in her early 20's. I was 22 when I found out that she had an eating disorder at my age. This was absolutely shocking and it questioned everything I knew about my mom who I loved and thought I knew. I remember thinking, why in the world have I waited this long to know this? Don't I know her? Why wasn't this more of a big deal in my life?

My Grandma died when my dad was 14. I had known this my entire life, but how much did I actually know about her? I was at girl's camp one year and I met a senior couple serving at the camp I was at and found out that my Grandma was her visiting teacher more than 40 years ago. I learned more about my Grandma's character in those 10 minutes of talking to them than I ever had in my entire life. Yes, my dad is a pretty private person, but why had I never asked him these questions about who my Grandma was?

I've since made it more of a point to ask questions to my parents and understand their childhood and early adulthood better. I know that this has made us grown closer together. It's important to know more about where we come from so that we can grow closer together as a family unit.