"I worked hard to build a life for Penny and myself, and I have remained single all this time. Her father has passed away, but he had several other children, and his parents still live in our same small town. I thought my secret (and right to privacy) had been respected, but I recently found out that someone told Penny about her other family several years ago."
"Apologize to Penny for keeping the information about her father from her. Explain that you did it because the story is ugly and you hoped to spare her the pain you experienced as a teenager. Because you live in a small town, it was unrealistic to think that this kind of secret would not come to light one day. That Penny's grandmother would introduce herself in this way was selfish and cruel, and I hope your daughter will not allow herself to become ensnared."
A 38-year-old single mother who became pregnant at 16 raised her 21-year-old daughter alone and chose not to involve the father or his family. The father is deceased, but his parents and other children live in the same small town. The paternal grandmother recently revealed the existence of the wider family and sent a paternity test as a 21st-birthday 'gift', possibly to recruit care once a primary caregiver moved away. The daughter is angry at her mother for withholding the information and at the grandmother for late engagement. The mother is advised to apologize, explain her motives, and warn her daughter against being pressured into caregiving.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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