Just nosy.Not having siblings, I'm an outsider to big families. The ones I know had usually competition for the parents' affection. But Not all parents pick a favorite, and some dislike a child for one reason or another...read todays' headlines. Your mother loved you and put up with a lot from her husband because in that day, if you made a bad deal, you stayed to keep your kids eating and sheltered. But some parents don't have any more of that nurturing element than a critter that lays its eggs and leaves for good. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Did he kick any of the other kids out?