That’s how my mom and dad have encouraged me to look at it…it’s not cheating since it’s with them. But the guilt is still so heavy.

As for how it started, I came across something I wasn’t meant to see. I was using my mom and dad’s computer one day when my laptop was on the fritz when I stumbled on a folder labeled “Kate.” I assumed it was old photos from my wedding or something, but it was actually a whole bunch of Word files…stories and fantasies that my mom and dad had been writing about me, going back years. I could tell by the writing styles that both of them had contributed. And what I read just flipped my stomach and turned my world upside down. I was absolutely aghast. I ended up going into my room, shutting the door, and sobbing.

I was planning to just…try to forget what I’d seen, but I just couldn’t hide it…I’ve always been a terrible liar. At dinner that night I couldn’t even make eye contact with my parents. After dinner, my mom pulled me aside and told me she knew I had found something “private” and she and my dad were hoping to explain (like an idiot, in my shock, I had forgotten to clear the documents from “recently viewed”). I could barely even get my words out I was so horrified that she knew.

What followed were several days of reflection and internal conflict and REALLY heavy emotions (and a lot of alone time spent crying on my part), followed by the most difficult conversations I’ve had in my life with my parents.