14 Stories From People Whose Families Shielded Them From Tough Situations

Different people get lucky in different ways. The people we’re going to tell you about today were lucky enough have relatives who always helped, supported, and improved their mood in any situation.

Bright Side wants to give you the chance to read some warm family stories that were shared by people online.

• There’s a family I know — they’re fairly quiet people, but not always. Their child had a problem at school: he was bullied but the school psychologist didn’t care and neither did the teachers. They went to school to talk to the principal and politely told her that there was a problem that they could only solve together. The principal denied the bullying and said, “The children are just playing.” Then, the father calmly took her bag, threw the contents out on the floor and kicked the bag so hard that it flew onto the table. The principal was in a state of shock and the father told her he was playing with her just like the kids did with his son. The bullying problem was solved.

• My grandfather has always been a person who admired every little thing I did as a child. I mean, everyone had a positive attitude about what I did and praised me but my grandfather’s delight was so real...he admired every little thing I drew. It has been 20 years since then and thanks to him I still love art and make paintings and other things. And I do all of it while picturing his happy face.

• At my home, my mother, father, 3 cats, and I all live together. I came back from college and was having a rough day. I grabbed my cat and sat down on the couch moaning, “I can’t do this anymore.” Sometime later, my mother came in saying exactly the same thing while grabbing the second cat. 30 minutes later, my father came in, grabbed the third cat and said, “I can’t do this anymore.” This is what it means to understand each other in your family.

• My 13-year-old son was bullied by his classmates. The boy is very bright and kind and he didn’t even try to fight back. My wife and I didn’t know what to do about it: our son prohibited us to intervene. And a week ago, he came back from school looking happy and said, “The boys apologized today. They said they wouldn’t bully me anymore and they asked my sister to never touch them again.” It turned out that my daughter beat their leader and pierced his football with a kitchen knife. By the way, my daughter is 7 years old. I’m now too scared to punish her.

• We have a very big family but nobody likes to cook. We decided to make our sister learn how. She did but lived for only 6 months with us before getting married. But we didn’t give up. Every Sunday, we visit her for lunch. All of us. 14 people. Her husband is very happy. We think.

• I have a problem with weight — an eating disorder. And I don’t like to talk about it. I totally hate being asked about it. My relatives, on the contrary, love discussing this topic. So my sister and I came to a family gathering. I was pretty smooth in the beginning and then the questions started: “Why do you weigh so little,” and “Are you ever going to start to eat?” If you think there’s nothing terrible about these words, you’re wrong. I was about to start crying. I just wanted to stand up and run away. And then my sister said, “She doesn’t eat enough? Just look at this cow...” And then she changed the subject quickly so nobody even realized it. This is what I call understanding.

• My father went to a hotel out of town for something work-related. While he was working, he went outside and saw squirrels in the park.
  He talked to the guard:
  “Can I come here a week later? I just want to show the squirrels to my daughter.”
  “Of course, you can come when you want. How old is your daughter?”
  “She is 22.”
  It’s nice to know that even though I live in a different town, am married and have 2 jobs, I’m still his little daughter he wants to show squirrels to.

• Before I was 12, my father and I had arguments often. He was explosive and stubborn. So I often went to bed after that and it was always difficult to fall asleep. But when my father came to the bedroom at night, I pretended to be asleep and he picked me up together with my blanket, sat down in the other room, rocked me, stroked my hair, apologized, and told me he loved me. He held me for 30 minutes and then brought me back to bed. I never opened my eyes. And this is my secret. I forgave my father for everything!

• I’m the first to the bathroom and she starts running. I pull her arm, trying to go first, get into the bathroom, and she tries to push me out. I jump in the shower in my jeans and sweater. She turns on the water and it pours all over me. I run back into the hall. Closing the door, she happily says, “I always win.” Daughter, 21. Mother, 47, who won again.

• My sister was 23 years old, we already lived separately. My mom and I were coming from the store on a bus when my sister called me crying. I start yelling, “What happened? Calm down and tell me. I’ll be there quick!” The passengers were scared and looked at me. A few minutes later, she was able to say, “The fish are dead...” I yell, “Wow. I’ll be there!” And I was thinking to myself, “Her fish died and my heart almost stopped.”

• My brother was watching a cartoon on TV in the evening. I wanted to tell him to brush his teeth but I ended up watching the cartoon with him. My mom tells us it’s time to go to bed. We mumble, “Yeah, yeah,” and we continue watching. 15 minutes later, Mom sends in Dad. We ask him to watch until the commercial starts. 30 minutes later, Mom comes in and sees this: the 3 of us lying down, watching a cartoon. Dad let us finish. My brother is 10, I’m 23, and our dad is 47.

• Our mother is very intelligent. Everyone admires my sister and me: we speak foreign languages and we’re good housewives. But nobody had any idea that our modest, elegant mother once taught my sister and me to drink wine, steal light bulbs, play cards, lie (we lied on the phone when she asked us to), climb trees, and so on.

• When my breasts started to develop, my mother took me to a lingerie store and helped me choose the right bra. When I wanted to start wearing makeup, I bought a small makeup kit and asked my friend to explain the basics to me. When I wanted to shave my legs, she explained to me how to avoid getting cut. When everyone in my class at school started drinking, my parents told me that they would understand if I showed up at home a little tipsy. They told me how much was too much and made me promise to have my father’s phone on speed dial just in case.

• I was 20 years old when I came home from college. I really wanted some melon but my father told me it was too early in July and I had to wait 2 weeks till August. 2 weeks later, I forgot about it completely, went over to my friend’s place and stayed there till very late. My mom calls me and says, “Come home quickly, your dad won’t let anyone touch the melon until you come home.”

Which of these stories did you like the most? Has anything like this ever happened to you?