I'm not a parent, I'm the baby sitter, but one time I watched a 6 year old Jewish girl who was really upset about not celebrating Christmas. Her parents were really orthodox and didnt let her sing Christmas carols or even eat candy canes. As I tucked her in, she showed me a little gingerbread house she made out of saltine crackers, skittles, and peanut butter. Cutest thing I ever saw, and I never told her parents as she would have gotten in trouble, but she was something special.

My grandfather revealed that my mother was not his only child. In the 1950s, when his longtime best friend was unable to impregnate his wife, my grandfather spent a week (A WEEK) in a remote cabin in the Ozarks having sex with this guy’s wife in order to give them a child. He said they had sex over 20 times. His friend even walked in on them once having sex on the kitchen counter after he drove down for the day to check on them - no phone at the cabin. Well, the week of sex worked and she got pregnant. The couple then moved out of state to start a new life as a family - to this day it is their only child and she’s not aware of her biological dad. The only communication my grandfather received from them afterward was a letter giving confirmation the child was born a healthy little girl. He never saw his friend again, but stated he often thought about that cabin in the woods.