Birthday Surprise Turns Into Family Drama After This Mom Creates A Scene About Grandfather Gifting Her 16 Y.O. A Car
It’s no big news that parenthood is a hell of a gig – especially when you have several kids to manage – and chances are, many of you have caught yourself lashing out at your loved ones simply because you’ve reached your end point.
The author of today’s tale is no stranger to this situation. The thing is, his wife recently took it out on him for several reasons, the main one being not backing her up during her row with his father, who gifted their eldest a car without consulting them first.
More info: Reddit
Man finds himself in a sticky situation after wife blows up on his dad for gifting their eldest a car
Image credits: worak (not the actual photo)
The woman demands he stop talking to him after his “sexist” remark, but he’s not having it
Image credits: Micah Sittig (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Marco Verch Professional Photographer (not the actual photo)
Image source: RoadTrip6
“AITA for telling my wife not to talk to my dad, but I will continue to?” – this internet user took to one of Reddit’s most honorable communities, asking its members if he’s indeed a jerk for not listening to his wife’s demands regarding his father. The post managed to garner over 12K upvotes as well as 4.4K comments discussing the situation.
Let’s start by saying that being a parent is lovely! There are a million and one reasons that make it all worth it – however, that doesn’t mean that you won’t want to snap once, or a couple, or perhaps even a couple of thousand times.
Raising a little human, let alone several, is a job and a half that requires constant support; after all, having a kid and becoming a parent is a huge life event that can affect even the most seemingly “stable” relationships. The point is, things are bound to go haywire at one point or another, which is why it’s crucial to learn how to navigate stuff so that you don’t lose your sanity completely – and what is the number one thing that gets mentioned in all of the textbooks and blog posts? Right, efficient communication.
The truth is, despite its clichéd nature, we’d be nowhere without good communication. It helps people understand each other, their thoughts, troubles, concerns – basically, anything that needs to be talked about in order to avoid a buildup of things that can later prompt a nasty conflict.
Sometimes it just so happens that you get so caught up with the day-to-day things that you end up disregarding your partner’s struggles, and even if it’s unintentional, a simple habit of discussing each other’s days could’ve spared you the lost nerve cells.
Consider this tale as a prime example, as the events that unfolded could’ve been easily avoided if 2/3 of the involved parties didn’t lack in the communication department.
So, let’s do a little recap to find out what all the fuss is about!
It all started when the author’s eldest turned 16; the plan was to skip school, go to the DMV to take the driving test, and then surprise the teen with a small road trip so he could practice his driving before he was able to do it on his own – but would it be a true r/AmItheA**hole story without some drama?
This provokes her to lash out and brand him as disrespectful
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
A few days before, the OP’s wife asked him to take their 3-year-old on the birthday outing so she could have a day to herself (what an odd day to choose for a rest, eh?). Anywho, the man refused, of course, claiming that it wouldn’t work out because the little one would be distracting – plus, it would be their son’s big b-day, so he ought to be the “priority.”
The woman twisted it all around and accused the man of basically saying that she wasn’t the priority, even though she had made a bazillion sacrifices for their children. It was a big fight and all.
Fast forward to the celebratory dinner: after they had their feast, the man’s father demanded they go outside, where he unveiled his big surprise and gifted his grandson his very first car. Though it was his old one, nobody knew about the cheeky plan, and since the wife was already in a foul mood, she eventually started pestering her father-in-law by asking him if it was something he was going to do for all their kids – as if not, he needed to take it back – and overall just blasting the man for not consulting them first.
Upon having enough of his daughter-in-law’s antics, the man shut her down by texting: “Stop bothering me, woman.” This struck a nerve and, according to the woman, came off as rather sexist. In the end, the author’s wife demanded he stop talking to his father, but he refused, which provoked her to brand him as disrespectful.
What do you think about this situation? Do you think the woman was rather unreasonable or could it have been a cry for help?
Fellow online community members shared their thoughts and opinions
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NTA. I'm all about parents getting alone time (especially with 6 kids. Yikes!). Bu there is a time and place for that, and it's always going to come second to the kids. If someone is getting their plans cancelled, it's the parent. And why on earth would you expect someone that can be easily moved (her day) to trump a16th birthday? Very strange on her part. Something else is going on. Unless she acts like this all the time. If so, there is a much bigger problem.
She wouldn't budge, she called her husband an @sshole multiple times, told him to stop talking to his father. I think the grandfather should have consulted the parents before giving a 16-year-old a car, but that could have been worked out. So yes, there seems to be a lot more going on - she was fighting with the son, now she's fighting with the father and grandfather. Time to consult a professional (check for physical issues, then the family dynamics and any past issues).
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I misread that as "after everyone ate my dad" Ok. My back is bad, painkillers, sorry!
While I agree that wanting the "day off from the toddler" on the 16th birthday of another child wasn't great, I feel like there is a lot more going on. Like maybe was there a specific reason that she thought she could finally have some me time when the husband and oldest son go on a roadtrip. And the husband answered a question off if she ever gets time off from the childcare with "she has me time when she travels for work" while saying at another point "she hates driving". So why would he think traveling for work would be particularly relaxing? From reading between the lines I feel like the wife is constantly stressed, fed up that she constantly has to do stuff, work and think off ALL the children, purely statistically speaking she's also probably doing the majority of the household work - 8 person household uff - on return from work trips there will be tasks piled up... Could she have more tact and patience? Potentially. Does the husband being dismissive about her concerns and needs help? No.
Taking a 3 year old to the DMV and then out with a new driver is a TERRIBLE idea though. The husband offered to give her a different day off and she refused to budge and then became verbally abusive
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NTA. I'm all about parents getting alone time (especially with 6 kids. Yikes!). Bu there is a time and place for that, and it's always going to come second to the kids. If someone is getting their plans cancelled, it's the parent. And why on earth would you expect someone that can be easily moved (her day) to trump a16th birthday? Very strange on her part. Something else is going on. Unless she acts like this all the time. If so, there is a much bigger problem.
She wouldn't budge, she called her husband an @sshole multiple times, told him to stop talking to his father. I think the grandfather should have consulted the parents before giving a 16-year-old a car, but that could have been worked out. So yes, there seems to be a lot more going on - she was fighting with the son, now she's fighting with the father and grandfather. Time to consult a professional (check for physical issues, then the family dynamics and any past issues).
Load More Replies... I misread that as "after everyone ate my dad" Ok. My back is bad, painkillers, sorry!
While I agree that wanting the "day off from the toddler" on the 16th birthday of another child wasn't great, I feel like there is a lot more going on. Like maybe was there a specific reason that she thought she could finally have some me time when the husband and oldest son go on a roadtrip. And the husband answered a question off if she ever gets time off from the childcare with "she has me time when she travels for work" while saying at another point "she hates driving". So why would he think traveling for work would be particularly relaxing? From reading between the lines I feel like the wife is constantly stressed, fed up that she constantly has to do stuff, work and think off ALL the children, purely statistically speaking she's also probably doing the majority of the household work - 8 person household uff - on return from work trips there will be tasks piled up... Could she have more tact and patience? Potentially. Does the husband being dismissive about her concerns and needs help? No.
Taking a 3 year old to the DMV and then out with a new driver is a TERRIBLE idea though. The husband offered to give her a different day off and she refused to budge and then became verbally abusive
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