Dear Blake,
I had pretty much an ideal childhood. My parents have never had issues that I ever saw. We went to church every Sunday, gathered with family often, etc. I’m now grown, and my parents are in their mid-80s.
Out of the blue, I got a message on social media from a woman who says she’s my father’s daughter from when he was 17 years old, before he met my mom. She found out through DNA testing. She is very nice about whether I tell my parents about her. Their health is beginning to deteriorate, and I don’t want to stress them more than they can handle. At the same time, I don’t know if it is right for me to withhold this information from my dad. I feel so alone in making this choice, so please give me any advice.
Signed, Alfred
From Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Dear Alfred,
This kind of information late in life can be a real shocker. However, I feel you should use this recently acquired knowledge for a few laughs and/or for your own personal gain. Here are some of my suggestions. Conduct an extensive background check on potential sister. If she appears to be a productive citizen, then you should consider telling your dad about the daughter he never knew he had. If she has a criminal background or even a poor credit score, tell her she can’t meet her father because he is currently in prison from strangling his twin daughters, simply because he felt they were losers. Or, inform your father about his offspring, and if he insists on not telling your mother, at the point you should employ the fundamental tactics of blackmail. Or, this idea. Go ahead and tell your mother, even though she may become angry and hurt, at her age she’ll probably forget about the entire incident before gumming her next bowl of strained vegetables during the next meal. And lastly, this suggestion. Tell your sister that yours/her parents want to fly out and meet her, but can’t afford the trip. If your sibling agrees to send you money to pay for the flight, hotel, and food, keep the money, accuse your parents of losing it, and then deal with all the stress you’re going through by going on a shopping spree. I hope this helps.
Blake