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'I Think You Need To Shave!' People Share The Things They Wish They Hadn't Caught Their Parents Doing.

Don't worry, Dr. Freud. They're not all about sex.

via GIPHY

Not ALL of them.

This piece is based on answers to a Quora question. Link on the last page.


1. I grew up poor in Los Angeles, but not in a poor section of LA. My parents wanted their children to live in a safe neighbourhood with a quality education, so we lived in a middle-class area with upper-middle-class suburbs around it.

They scrimped and saved and did everything possible to afford to live there. We only had one car. We used coupons. Hand-me-down clothes. My dad worked 3 jobs sometimes, and my mom also worked long hours. We had enough to eat, clothes, shoes, beds, the money to pay the bills, and each other. But no more.

One day, I was walking home from school (we never had the luxury of being picked up by a parent) when I saw a man climbing out of a dumpster. I felt so bad for this homeless person . and then recognized him as my dad.

He was going through the trash, gathering aluminum cans to be ultimately turned in to a recycling center in exchange for a small amount of cash.

My dad was sorting through huge amounts of garbage in order to make maybe $20. And I knew he probably did this all the time - I had just never been aware of it before.

I decided right then that I was going to make enough money so that my dad never had to sort through someones trash. The image of my dad climbing out of a dumpster still haunts me.

-Persephone Willard

2. In high school, I worked part time at a burger joint. I busted my rump and worked like a slave during my shifts because I really needed the money for gas, phone bill, etc. I would often come home sweating grease and smelling like a rancid onion.

This particular night (a fricking Friday of course) was absolutely horrid and filled with the usual griping, hateful customers. When the clock hit 10 I hung up my grease stained hat and apron, giving a large mental middle finger to the place, and left.

Now I should note I did not get off any earlier or later than I usually did. (continued...)


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I arrived home at my expected time and sluggishly half-walked half-crawled down the hall towards my bedroom. I had to pass my parents room in order to do this.

Suddenly, I caught an orange blur out of the side of my eye.

I turned to look and-OH GOD!-my dad was buried between my mother's thighs. Lo and behold, her orange socks, high in the air, were the blur that had caught my attention.

I shrieked in surprise and disgust while running like a crazy woman to my bedroom. Now not only was I dead tired and exhausted from a hard day at work...my stomach was threatening to regurgitate its contents.

My mom still denies it to this day. I call her "orange socks" and she gets irritated.

via GIPHY

Or, more hilariously, Agent Orange.

-Alexandra Bagale

3. My older brother committed suicide when I was in my late teens; he was 21 at the time.

I periodically visit his memorial; I've been once or twice with other family and my father. Visits tend to be emotional, but the pain clears after some time - different people grieve in different ways.

I hadn't been to my brothers grave for a long time - years. I felt I'd had closure - not forgotten, but forgiven him as it were. I'd moved on, in a way.

One day I was driving past the cemetery and thought I'd go and say hi. I could barely remember what the plaque looked like. As I got closer, I saw someone standing right by where I was heading. I backed off, I thought I'd give them respectful space.

Some time passed, and the person turned - he had a flower in his hand, and he was exiting the area of the garden away from me. I recognized his walk, and I don't know why I hadn't picked up on it sooner. (continued...)


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I guess I just wasn't expecting it or something, but I knew my Dad - it was definitely him. He was too far away, and I didn't want to awkwardly shout out to him. So I called his phone. The distant figure pulled his cellphone out, looked at it, and cut the call.

He put the flowers he had brought in the garbage can, leaned heavily on it and heaved his shoulders. Then, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Nothing in my life has alarmed or disturbed me so much - my father who I love deeply, the pain he feels at the loss of a son. I saw something that day that cut me in two. Defeat? Whatever it was, it was painful for both of us.

We've talked about it - that day in fact. He told me he didn't take my call because he was too raw - sometimes it happens I guess. He's angry sometimes at my brother but more often himself; he feels despondent and worthless sometimes - a father who buried a son.

I wish I never had to see my parents (either of them) like that, ever.

-Jonathan Pashby

4. Im in my final year of studying Electronics and Electrical Engineering and at one of the most well-known and one of the best private colleges in my country.

The fees are quite high, and hard to afford for a middle class family. My dad has no siblings and hes managing all the expenses of our house for our family. My younger sister is in grade 9, and shes a good classical dancer so her costumes are quite expensive.

My dads salary isnt much. He is a government employee and my mom is a housewife. I know it's hard for them to afford my tuition but they never wanted to take a student loan because they dont want me to pay for it my whole life.

Once, I was home on a vacation on a Sunday morning. I saw something which my parents had never told me. (continued...)


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I woke up and was heading towards the washroom (for which I had to go through my parents room) and on the way I saw my mom was doing something with her gold jewelry.

She immediately put all the jewelry back inside the locker when she saw me. 23 days later,while searching for my documents, I found a receipt in a file for several thousand dollars. My parents had sold the jewelry (some of it quite old) to pay my college fees.

They never let me know what they were going through. They just wanted me to see happy and did their best.

I learned a valuable lesson: parents are gods on earth. I love my parents a lot and Im trying to be the best son ever since then.

Our parents do so much for us but sometimes we ignore them. We yell at them for not giving us everything we want. Love and respect your parents. They give up more for you than you can imagine.

-Anonymous

5. I was 16 and in bed. My father was prudish but my mother was definitely not.

via GIPHY

My bedroom was at the bottom of the stairs that led up to their room. Apparently that evening my mother decided to cheekily flirt with my dad by tossing cold water onto him when he was in the shower. So he got out and chased her up the stairs, trying to hug her while she had her good work clothes on.

Anyways, I was minding my own business with my CD player and headphones on. It was 10:45-11pm. I don't remember how or why, but I heard their bedroom door open above me. My mother was laughing way too hard. (continued...)


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Next thing I knew, my dad came rolling down the stairs and bounced through my door into my room. Naked.

via GIPHY

I'm looking in shock and keeping my eyes up at his face as he covers his junk and he yells at ME! He's like, "Amanda! Go to your room! And I was so flustered I just said, "but, daddy! I am in my room!!!"

He got up, careful to keep his butt and privates hidden and he's like, "Good! Go to sleep! I've told you about those headphones. I don't want to see this again."

And I just snarled back "I don't wanna see this again either!"

My mother was about dead by then. Her laughter was silent and shed slid to the floor as my dad did what sounded like the fastest upstairs naked dash of all time.

But that wasn't my first embarrassing encounter with my dad.

Rewind a couple years to when I was 8. My dad was showering. There was opaque glass, so nothing was visible. Therefore, my mum thought it'd be ok to let me in to brush my teeth.

via GIPHY

I'm partway through and I hear: "Hey, look at this. What do you think?"


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And I turn around to see my dad's ass pressed against the glass so it was the only part of him visible.

I spit out my toothpaste and said, "I think you need to shave, daddy." He slipped as I rinsed my mouth out.

-Amanda Zawjatunazmul

6/6. I was about 16 years of age when this happened. It was the last week of the month, and a few of our family friends visited us for chit chat after dinner.

When they showed up and said, hey guys, lets go get some ice cream together, my parents said yes very reluctantly and they just then mysteriously went upstairs. I was not sure why this seemed to be a big deal.

After some time, when they hadn't come back downstairs, I went upstairs to look for them. That's when I discovered that they had opened up my piggy bank and were counting money (pennies, coins, some notes).

I was shocked that they had opened my piggy bank and when they saw me standing, they said, "honey, sorry we have to use your money for ice cream now as papa is out of money for the month. We will give it back to you on payday."

For some reason I understood the situation, and they gave me the money to run down to the store to buy some ice cream. I did and we all shared it with the visitors.

I wish I had never seen my parents in that desperate moment, but it also motivated me. I studied very hard and worked tirelessly after that so that my family would never be that poor again.

Today, we're not rich by any means, but we're doing much better. We certainly don't need to raid children's piggy banks!

-Anonymous

(Source)

Thumb credit: Sofi photo / Shutterstock.com

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.