What Kind Of Upbringing Did Your PARENTS Have?

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I apologise for typing "parents" in capitals, it's just that I am interested in their upbringing and not your own..for now at least! My Dad was born in 1937 so was growing up during the War with his one brother and three sisters. I believe another child died. His Dad, in particular, was evil in the fact that he s*xually abused his daughters. His Mum had a favourite, my Dad's brother Tony, who would receive the most food (in the days of Food Rationing that was a major feat) and everyone else was left to starve. Uncle Tony carried on his Dad's "tradition" of s*xually abusing his step-children (Dad learned this from them when Tony died) which was ironic considering he blew all his mother's Will on booze. Yes, folks, she left all her money to precious Tony. He is buried in her grave and my Dad has said that "no way" is he going to end up in the family plot as well. Can't say I blame him! When my Dad joined the National Service he had 3 square meals a day and loved every minute of it. He had to send practically all his cash to his Mum but he made extra by ironing his mates' uniforms, something he is still really good at. My Mum also came from a relatively large family that consisted of another sister and two brothers, one of whom was her half-brother. She found this out many years later as Dougie was actually adopted by her Dad so he had the same name as him. Her Dad had also been married before and not long before he died told Mum about a half-sister in Glasgow called Kathleen! Mum's Dad drank but his wife didn't so you can imagine what that was like. Abuse went on but it was more of the "hitting" kind but my Uncle Joe had to sleep in his parents' room for years...and had to endure them doing it whenever his Dad got drunk. Not the greatest of upbringings and it's no wonder he's now a Paranoid Schizophrenic, bless his heart. My Mum was born on 17th June 1946. This date is significant. Why? Because on the same date in 1940 the ship Lancastria went down, with her Dad on board. He was in the Royal Engineers and lied about his age too and signed up when drunk..he was actually too old. He was shot in the water after the ship went down and - subsequently had his leg amputated just above the knee. He had nightmares about it for years and would not talk about it to anyone because of the Official Secrets Act. Nowadays it would be known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lancastria It really is amazing how my parents have turned out, under the circumstances. My Uncle Tony, for example, turned out to be a very bad man and his step-daughters actually said to my Dad that they wished he'd been their Dad instead. How sad. Mum vowed that when she got married she would never repeat the mistakes her own parents made...and she hasn't although her sister Enid didn't turn out to be the greatest mother in the world..so I'm glad Mum is my Mum, if you get my drift. So do your parents ever tell you about their childhoods or is it too painful for them to open up about it? I didn't ask my parents questions; they just volunteered the information over the years.