Read the story of Zdenka, who thanks to the pandemic came to interesting findings. Her family’s story may seem harsh at first. For years, she dealt with her parents’ rejection of her for having a different sexual orientation than most people.
My parents never accepted me
The day after the WHO declared a pandemic, I was sitting at a friend’s house watching TV. I wanted to cry and I was really scared. I started thinking about my parents. I hadn’t seen them for a long time. My dad’s reaction seven years ago caused us to almost cut off contact. I had a few drinks at a family party and finally got over my fear and admitted to him that I wasn’t attracted to men.
I told her a few days later. But my dad must have told her before I did. She didn’t even look at me the whole time. She ended the conversation by saying she had to go shopping. After that, she just said she hoped I wouldn’t stop dressing like a woman.
They started treating me differently. More cautious. They still helped me and showed me love, but they walked all over me like I was a hot mess. I was still me, I just didn’t want to take a friend from college like they imagined. My mom even told me she was sorry she wasn’t going to have a son-in-law. When I confided in her that I had broken up with my first girlfriend, I felt like I wasn’t even entitled to be sad. I stopped seeing them regularly.
And everything turned out fine
After the quarantine started, I started calling them more and we had video conferences. It was fun and I was starting to find my way back to them. One day we broached the subject and I confided my feelings of disappointment in them. They both told me they never stopped loving me. They were just worried about how I would be received by those around me. They didn’t want me to be at a disadvantage and felt like I was making their lives difficult. Thanks to the coronavirus, we’re closer than ever.