Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather around because boy, do I have a story that’s juicier than a peach in the peak of summer for you today. This tale comes from the depths of the internet, specifically Reddit, where real people share their real-life dramas for us to dissect. So, buckle up, because Roger is about to serve you the spicy deets with a side of sass.
The drama unfolds with our protagonist, a 26-year-old mother of two, who ventured on what she hoped would be a serene vacation with her dad, stepmom, and their brood of three. Now, before we dive deep, let’s acknowledge the *courage* it takes to go on a week-long trip with family members you’re not exactly on terms with. Bravo, darling, bravo!
But as fate would have it, tranquility was not on the itinerary. The backdrop? A rainy day and a basketball court. The drama? A showdown between our heroine’s 5-year-old son and his 14-year-old step-cousin, culminating in a basketball-to-face rendezvous. And if you’re thinking ‘Well, that escalated quickly,’ you’d be right!
The crux of the matter lies in the retaliation protocol endorsed by the stepmom and the protagonist’s own father. Yes, dear readers, they believed that the best way for a 5-year-old to learn not to hit is by… getting hit. I’m sorry, but since when did ‘an eye for an eye’ become the go-to parenting mantra?
Our protagonist, being the grown-up in the room, tried to defuse the situation, only to be met with accusations of blowing things out of proportion. Because clearly, expecting adults not to endorse playground justice is asking too much. The dialogue then devolved into a screaming match of Olympic proportions, with our protagonist realizing she was better off sprinting for the exit.
Fed up, she does what any self-respecting adult would do—pack up her kids and leave. But not without enduring one last tirade from her dad and stepmom, blaming her son for the altercation. At this point, our protagonist’s ‘okay’ and ‘go off queen’ responses are the epitome of handling nonsense with grace (or at the very least, sarcasm).
The cherry on top? Blocking the whole lot on phone and social media upon departure. And honestly, who can blame her? When family time feels more like you’re a gladiator in the Colosseum, it’s time to reconsider your guest list.
So, let’s break it down. Was our heroic mother wrong for choosing peace and protecting her children over maintaining a toxic family connection? In the wise words of Roger: Absolutely not.
**Roger’s Hot Take:** Going No Contact (NC) in this scenario isn’t just justified; it’s a standing ovation-worthy move. When family dynamics turn toxic, the bravest thing you can do is choose mental health and well-being over familial obligations. Because at the end of the day, kiddos, life’s too short for bad vibes and even worse vacations.
And there you have it, another day, another drama dissected. Remember, folks, in the grand scheme of things, choosing peace and protecting your peace is always the right call. Until next time, keep your tea hot and your takes hotter. Roger, out.
Original story
I(F26) have two kids but this story is about my oldest(5). I recently went on a week long vacation with my dad and step mom and also her three kids(12,14,16) this situation involves the 14 year old. I never had the greatest of relationships with my step mom due to the circumstances on how she and my father got together, but over the years her and I have learned to be respectful towards each other. My step siblings and I don’t have a real relationship due to the fact I don’t see them very often and the age gap but when I do see them I always talk to them, we may have an age gap but I absolutely adore them.
Like I said I went on a week vacation with my dad, wife and her kids, it was going really well a lot better than I expected, due to the fact my dad and I don’t have the greatest of relationships after my mom passed and he does not respect boundaries at all(step mom included). I ended up bringing both of my children with me and they were having a blast until the very last day.
It was raining out and they decided to go on a walk, now I really didn’t want to due to the rain but I gave in and said fine. As we walk we found a basketball court for my step siblings to play on and my son was riding his bike around. I was paying attention to my youngest for a bit thinking everything will be fine since all my son was doing was riding his bike around.
Out of no where my dad says my son is coming towards me crying and holding his face, I keep asking what happened and all he’s doing is crying and not speaking. I look over at my step siblings hoping they knew something and then all I hear is the 14 year old tell me my son smacked him in the back so he threw the ball at his face. I immediately look at my step mom and tell her that was uncalled for. She proceeded to tell me that the only way my son will learn is if he gets hit back. I told her that this is why I ask her kids to stop hard core wrestling with him and really rough housing with him because he thinks that’s the only way to play with them.
She told me it didn’t matter that’s the only way he will learn, I tried to keep my cool and explain to her that there’s about a 10 year age gap between them and that all my step sibling had to do was tell me and I would of taken care of it, it wasn’t like I was super far away I was only 5 feet away. My dad starts to jump in and starts to telling me that I’m blowing this all up for no reason.
At this point I’m starting to feel my blood boil, I start telling them I need to walk away because I feel myself getting angry and they told me “no, your teaching your kids to runaway from their problem” I told them I’m not running away from my problems but me being this angry was not going to solve anything right now. They both kept screaming at me about how what happened to my son was perfectly fine. I finally snap and start screaming at them back. They told me this is all my son does and I had to remind them that my son doesn’t get reports of hitting or fighting at school, I don’t get complaints by parents and even my friends who baby sit him don’t say that. Oddly enough though the only time I see aggressive behavior is when he’s around her kids. We kept going back at it so I had to just stop
I do eventually leave because I felt like I was a child getting yelled at again and then I had to remind myself I’m a grown adult and I will do as I please. I take my kids back to the hotel and I start packing everything up and call my kids father to come and get us. We were suppose to ride back with the family but I was not going to deal with that anymore so since I was only an hour away from my house and I told him what happened he was more than willing to come get us.
They come back to the hotel screaming at me because I said for the kids to get ready because their dad is coming and then continued screaming at me. I stopped caring(I literally kept saying “okay” and then told her “go off queen”)what they were saying because they kept telling me this my sons fault.
I was absolutely boiling over and beyond hurt. Once their father got to the hotel i immediately packed things in the car and told my kids it’s time to go. I see my dad get a little sad and he asked if they could say goodbye and I told them that it was fine. I get out to the car and my dads standing there and we ended up getting into a little bit more and I ended the conversation with “no you failed as a grandparent because you think it’s okay to have a 14 year old chuck a ball at your 5 year old grandsons face. He didn’t say anything and walked away.
Once I got into the car I immediately blocked all of them on my phone and social medias. My son told his dad and I that he didn’t want to see them anymore and it really hurt his feelings. I spoke to my kids dad and he was livid and agreed with me about going NC. I won’t subject my child to that.
I spoke to my family and they agreed about going nc and they are disgusted by their behavior. I just want to get outside opinions….so AITA for going NC with my dad?