DEAR ABBY: I disagree with you concerning your response to "Feeling Guilty." You told her you saw no reason to tell her children that their father had been married previously.
My mom had told my brothers and me that she and Dad had eloped and were married by a justice of the peace.
When I was 18, my mother died. While helping Dad sort through her things, I found some pictures of her as a bride in a formal wedding gown. Several aunts and uncles and other family members were in those pictures.
This left me wondering why my three brothers and I had never been told about Mom's first marriage. I was hurt to think she didn't trust me enough to share that part of her life with me.
My grandmother was left to explain my mother's first marriage, and I was left to wonder what else I didn't know about my mother. -- HURT DAUGHTER
DEAR HURT: Although I saw no reason why "Feeling Guilty" should tell her children about their father's first marriage since it was very brief and was annulled by the Catholic Church, I confirmed her option to tell her children when they were old enough to understand what a "divorce" is.