With Mother’s and Father’s Day now behind us, it’s the perfect time to reflect on our relationships with the people who brought us  . No parent-child relationship is alike, as illustrated by the wide and wonderful range of submissions for our SixContest #151, “Six Word Secrets For Our Parents.”

Many of our Six-Word Memoir writers took the prompt literally, confessing to hidden secrets from their childhoods (“I almost drowned in foam cubes” —QuestCrew and “I really wasn’t at the library” —DynamicDbytheC). Others took the opportunity to crack jokes about their parents’ strange behaviors growing up (“Your coffee breath woke me up” —Cobourne). Some disclosed their innermost thoughts and feelings about their complex relationships with the people who raised them (“I’m sorry she’s all that’s left”
—ShellDeFelice and “I’m not growing, you are shrinking” —4Lee). Finally, some Sixers saw the contest as an opportunity to be brutally honest and pull no punches, including Assimeon who shared, “Stop checking my Life360 every minute,” and Goofiestgoober whose six words you just can’t unsay: “I know you ate my churro.”

Here are our Top Six picks!

6. “I am what you’ve made me.” — 240360

5. “On Dad’s shoulder, I feel tall.” — park_chanhee2010

4. “Let’s be real, I’m the favorite.” — MeganHu

3. “I see you aging. I’m scared.” — MeMe1

2. “Forgive me for not forgiving you.” — l8leigh

And the winner is…

1. “We love. We fight. We love.” — Kitkat77

Congratulations to Kitkat77 whose six words are poignant and we suspect are relatable to all!