Sometimes celebrating the holidays can be awkward.
In a post on Reddit’s popular forum AITA, the 36-year-old woman said she found herself in the middle of some unexpected Christmas drama between her husband, his ex-wife and the couple’s daughter.
The woman wrote that her husband Jake (47) has a daughter with his ex-wife Susan and that they divorced when their daughter was 1 year old.
“They do not have a ‘friendly’ relationship,” the woman wrote, but added that they are “cordial” because of their daughter, Jenna.
“However, they both agreed that they never wanted their daughter to have to choose between them for major holidays and so they have spent every Thanksgiving and Christmas together for the past 19 years, with me joining for the last 4,” the woman added.
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The woman said there were no major problems during the holidays, but that it was still “very uncomfortable and it seems like something everyone is just trying to get through.”
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Now that Jenna is in college, the woman said she figures the tradition might end, but instead her husband insists on keeping things “normal.”
“I’m pretty close with Jenna and last year after we left Susan’s for Christmas, Jenna texted me joking about how boring the night was and then said she didn’t know why they were still keeping it up,” the Redditor wrote. “And I said PLEASE tell your dad because he’s going to insist it’s for your own good until you do.”
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Since Jenna spent Thanksgiving with friends this year, the woman wrote that the topic had only recently come up.
“We were texting last month as she started planning to come home for Christmas and mentioned how she wasn’t looking forward to ‘another Christmas’ and I again encouraged her to tell her dad,” the woman wrote.
The result of that conversation? Everyone agreed that Jenna would spend Christmas Eve with one parent and Christmas with the other.
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The problem arose when the woman said that Jenna “mentioned” that her stepmother was the one who “prompted” her to have the conversation. “Now Susan has decided that I ‘manipulated’ Jenna to get what I wanted… and blew up Jake’s phone,” the woman wrote.
“This is the most they’ve talked in ages and Jake doesn’t really but almost agree with her… which makes me feel like I’m going crazy,” the woman added, saying she needed “some outside opinions.”
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In the comments, users mostly agreed that the woman did nothing wrong.
“Jenna made it clear she wasn’t enjoying this and came up with a solution herself. You just supported her,” read one comment. “This seems to have gone on too long for anyone’s comfort and as a result it’s as if you’ve all missed the festive season.”
Some noted that both the parents and the holiday tradition sounded “tiring,” while others suggested that while Jenna probably didn’t mean to hurt the Redditor, she may have been looking for a way to feel like she wasn’t letting her parents down.
“Perhaps it was easiest for Jenna to express herself this way,” read the comment. “Children after divorce often feel pulled between their parents and maybe she saw that as a way out.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education