Was This Sister Old Enough To Learn The Truth About Her Childhood?

Childhood memories can be tricky things. They’re always viewed through the lens of nostalgia, good or bad, and when some siblings are older than others, the memories can also be totally different.

This woman took care of her baby sister, cooking her dinner and changing her diapers, because their mother was an addict who often left them alone.

The younger sister only remembers how her older sibling was “boring” and cooked her nothing but macaroni and cheese, and OPs feelings were extremely hurt.

I (25f) took my sister (16) to coffee on friday, to catch up and spend time together. All was well until she began telling me how much she hated “spending time” with me as a kid. She exclaimed how all that I cooked her was Kraft Dinner (box mac n cheese) every day and that she hates it now.

She added about how I was “so bossy” and never played with her etc.The initial remark was whatever, but the constant poking fun at me really got to me and I corrected her.

OP told her the truth about she’d only been 9, completely in charge of an infant she had no idea how to care for, and that she had done her best.

I told her that I was 9 years old when she was born and I had to take care of her because my mom didn’t come home every night. I told her that I was 10 years old trying to figure out how to change diapers from reading the huggies box. how I was cooking her KD every day because I was 11 and she was hungry.

The girls were separated by CPS when the youngest was 5, sending them to live with their respective fathers – a move that was very hard on OP as she had raised her sister from a baby.

My mom had a really bad addiction problem and we were taken away when I was 14 and my sister was 5 and both given to our dads (we have different ones) , they never told her the details so it was only her memory and it was so hard for me.

I had been raising her for 5 years and I felt like she was my own. I told her that I’m sorry I did a poor job raising her and no, it wasn’t fun or enjoyable, but I was just a kid too.

The sister took the whole thing well, apologizing and renewing her love for her sister. They’ve gotten closer since she realized the truth of how they grew up those years together.

Part of me didn’t wanna shatter whatever childlike memory she had about our lives together, but it was too much to carry and to also be made fun of for it.

She was super nice about it and honestly, we bonded a lot since then and actually talk again. I found that her stepmother had been lying to her about contacting me to see her and telling her I don’t reply. (I’ve never been contacted to see my sister)

She said she was confused by her memories but it made more sense now and that she loved me.

Now her mother and stepmother are upset about what she revealed to the younger sister, and OP is wondering whether or not she said too much.

Two days later, our mom (who is 5 years sober now) called me screaming about how I got my SISTER taken from her because I was jealous she got more attention and I was trying to ruin my mother’s life. I told her that I’m not the one who called CPS, my sister’s father was, and she just kept screaming and saying that I had no right to “dump that on your sister” (She has custody of my sister again just this year)

Am I the a$$hole for “outing” how terrible our childhood was?

I would have loved for my sister to not be hurt or affected by it, but I couldn’t bare the blame I was getting. Was it selfish?

I thought she’d be old enough to hear the gist of it.

Reddit is here to give their thoughts, as always!

This person points out that it seems as if it’s always going to be just the two of them against the world.