Friend Demanded I Pick Her Kids Up From School As She's Going Away

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00] Hey Waffle Gang, I do hope you are well. My name is Mark and today we're checking out some more Reddit stories. And if you do love a Reddit story, why not consider? Like, subscribe, maybe that notification bell too. And let's crack on with today's first story. Much love guys. Now today's first story comes from puzzle-headedchef516 and it says, am I the arsehole here for not taking my friend's kids last minute?

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00] My friend is a single mom to two girls. I take the older one, 11 years old from time to time as she always wants to come over and I love spending time with her. The younger one is five and autistic. I've taken her for a few hours but never overnight as my house is not a small child friendly or set up for a neurodivergent child. No gates, no special locks, sharp edges everywhere etc. I have four adults in my house, no kids.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00] She called me today at 3pm and asked me to pick them up from school, 45 minutes across the city, at 3.15pm. I told her I wasn't off work until 6pm and also I can't do a 45 minute drive in 15 minutes. She said to make an excuse and leave work now. I asked what the emergency was and she said no emergency. My boyfriend wants to go out of town for the weekend and we are already heading out of the city so just go get them. I told her no.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_00] No, I'm not leaving work and also my house isn't safe for the younger one. Plus no clothes or anything for either. She said just buy the stuff to make it safe and buy them clothes and hung up.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00] I called her back, no answer. Text, no response. I messaged her mum on Facebook and told her what was going on. She asked why I can't just do this small favor. I said I'm an adult with bills to pay and can't just leave work and you've seen my house. It isn't set up for small kids. She told me to figure it out and go get them and hung up.

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_00] I'm not leaving work. I texted my friend again and said I'm not leaving work and I can't take the kids this weekend. It is Easter and I have plans with my family. Had she asked sooner I could have taken the older one at least. No response and no red reports. The school has called me and asked me to come get them which I said I can't and I can't get a hold of her either.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00] It's 5pm. I still have an hour of work left. Her mum refuses to go. So am I the arsehole here for not taking her kids last minute and being demanded to, not asked to? Now of course not the arsehole. This wasn't a small favor. It was abandoning her kids and expecting you to fix it. She wanted you to leave work with 15 minutes notice, drive 45 minutes and then take a 5 year old autistic child in a house you said isn't safe,

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00] wanted you to buy clothes and child proof everything and cancel your Easter plans. That's absolutely wild and the biggest red flag is that she left town before even confirming childcare. He even contacted her mum and responded to the school. I think OP did more than enough in this situation but and I also wonder about the past history with this person because you know thought people don't jump straight to drop everything and take my kids unless they're used to others cleaning up their messes

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_00] and the mum saying figure it out instead of going herself makes it seem like this isn't new behavior. But a commenter said to OP, not the arsehole. Hopefully the school will call CPS to take the kids into care from the mother who abandoned them or the police. She could be charged with neglect. Call the grandmother and let her know one final time that you aren't getting the kids and if no one picks them up they will be considered abandoned.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_00] Someone replies saying don't call, send in writing or both. OP wants all the evidence for when mum tries to turn it around but OP said they would. Wah, not the arsehole obviously. OP says I've called, left voicemails, turned on record calls on my phone, text the moment, message the grandmother on Facebook as I don't have her phone number just on Facebook from previously picking the kid up from her and her phone was broken. I am an emergency contact for

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00] the kids but told the school this isn't an emergency. Their mum left last minute and assumed I would pick them up. Commoner says dump her as a friend. Who the fuck goes out of town without making sure their children have proper care? She's a dumbass and so is her mum. This is insane. Please update us. OP says I could do without her but her older daughter and I are super close. Like play Fortnite or Minecraft together almost every weekend so I would miss her so much if

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00] all of a sudden I never saw her again. Crafty Sock says if what you say is accurate you are not the arsehole. I don't know anyone who would do something like that. That irresponsible person and her mother have to be from another planet. Possibly Uranus. OP says sadly she is an addict so I think that plays into it. OP came in with an update after a few hours and said CPS has been called.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_00] The older kid her dad passed away and the younger one the dad is on his way but he's a four hour drive away. Friends phone is now turned off. I feel like the friendship is most likely over after this. The grandmother isn't answering Facebook messages. Again I don't have a phone number just Facebook. Then OP comes in the next day with their final update and says Kids went to their grandpas. Friends parents are divorced. CPS called in but he was

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00] Working so return the call after work. The youngest is with bio dad. Oldest is with grandpa. Both mom and grandma are addicts. Friends said I agreed to watch them and when I proved I had said no and told them both that he decided he is fighting for custody of the oldest for her safety. And youngest the dad is going to court for full custody. Grandpa's fine with me taking the oldest like I've done before as he knows her and I are close.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00] I just care that they are safe and will get cared for and loved. So glad they didn't end up in the system. The commenter says I swear I've seen this story before. Too extreme to be believed? OP says if there is a similar story I would love to chat to that person and see how they handled it. I hope my friend gets help for her addiction. The kids are safe now with grandpa for the oldest then dad for the youngest and that's all that matters. Until my friend gets help for her addiction

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00] I'll be cut in contact like many suggested as I always try to help people and fix things and this time I said no as really deep down I thought she would just go back and be a mom but apparently not. You think whatever you want. I don't post often on reddit because generally speaking I know what I am or I'm not the asshole but this time I really felt maybe I was in the wrong and should have helped her. The commenter says I hope this one is fake. This is an insane way for children to have to live.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00] OP responds saying sadly people with addiction it comes before anything else. My mother suffered with addiction with pills when I was growing up and I remember walking home after sports practice because she was high and forgot to pick me up. There are so many options for help but people like to be victims and blame the disease rather than working on curing it. Ugh as I always say stories with kids they absolutely get to me because it's just such a depressing

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00] situation to think that those kids are going through. Just all the like the little small thoughts and feelings that they must be thinking about watching their mom with their addiction at the same time. It's got to be scary for them and just the uncertainty that no stability in their lives at all. I really do hope going forward that they do get some stability back in their lives and just some normal childhood because it's incredibly sad but so many of the commenters say and how incredibly

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00] common this kind of thing is. But what do you guys make of this one? There were some discussions below about the amount of stories of people just abandoning their kids on people's doorsteps and this person was talking about their favorite saga is the sister who kept dumping her kids on brother during vacations and someone shared a link to that so we're going to jump straight into that one next. It was featured both on the am I the arsehole and entitled people subreddit.

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_00] There's an am I the arsehole for saying I'll be driving myself and paying for my own room on the upcoming family vacation so I won't have to be a babysitter. I, 23 male, was repeatedly stuck playing the part of helper and babysitter on our family outings. I had to move out of my parents house because I kept being forced to help watch my three nephews. Last year we took a family vacation in the summer to the coast. I rode along with my parents and

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_00] they paid for my hotel room. Only I had to share that room with three rowdy boys because my sister and the husband wanted a room to themselves. I was promised time to do my own things on the vacation but instead I ended up having to help with these kids. I complained to everyone about it and was reminded I was there for free. For them we pretty much just did only one thing I wanted to do which was tour an art gallery. I like doing this whenever I'm at the coast but the kids find it

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_00] boring. This year my parents have a beach trip planned for June and they assumed I'd be riding along the same way as last year but I refused. I said I'd be driving myself and paying for my own hotel stay to have my own room. My parents were shocked and tried to remind me of the cost. I said it was no worry. I've got a good job and a decent running car. I can more than afford it. That's when the buts started. I stated the previously listed things as to why I'll be driving

[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_00] myself and paying for myself. I want to be able to enjoy this vacation as an adult and not be treated like a child like last year. My parents told my sister and she called to blow up at me that I'll be ruining the vacation if I'm off doing my own thing while she has to wrangle her three boys. I ended up yelling at her that last year all she did was rope me into her mess. I didn't really get to do much of anything I wanted to do and I was treated like the bad guy for wanting to just go

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_00] to an art gallery. I'm a grown man. I deserve my own vacation too. Now my sister is not speaking to me and my parents are still trying to convince me to just ride with them to keep the peace. I'm still refusing but the pressure is getting to me. Am I the asshole for not giving in? I know they'll have a pretty hard time when they won't have another person there to help. Edits. It's been barely an hour since I posted but my sister is apparently a reddit lurker in the

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_00] mornings and she saw my post. Not only is she furious with me but she's also upset no one in the comments is siding with her. To make it short she went on a big rant about how it's so hard to be a parent to triplets and the least I could do is help because I'm young and single and she needs a break. I stood my ground on my decision and now she's calling our parents to get them involved. I'm expecting a call from them any minute. OP then updates again saying well I'm off work now so

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_00] I can tell more of what went down. I guess you could say it's over. My sister got our parents involved. They looked at my post and were absolutely horrified by the continuous influx of commenters. Yes they're very angry with me that I posted here but I told them that if they'd just listened to me to begin with I'd have never needed to. I'm sick of the whole keep the peace mentality that sacrifices me to placate my sister. They in turn went off on my sister and to make a long story

[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_00] short the whole vacation has been cancelled. The hotel wasn't booked yet anyways but my parents are arguing with my sister. My sister is blaming me and my nephews are crying because they aren't going to the beach. My sister called me at lunch and basically implied I have no life which is why I have time to help. I recorded that and told our parents and that's currently what they're fighting about. Small update. I wasn't going to update again but here's a little more. Parents said they won't ever

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_00] push babysitting of my nephews on me again and have agreed that what happened last year was unfair to me. Right now they're very angry with my sister for telling me I should help her because she thinks I have no life. My sister is playing the victim and my brother-in-law is basically saying nope to the whole mess and spending most of his time at work. Thank you to everyone who's commented. You made my day. So OP was obviously voted not the arsehole in this situation but a week later they came back again

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_00] and says a week ago I made this throwaway account to ask am I the arsehole a question. I was found to be anything but the arsehole in. I have too much to say in a post in am I the arsehole as an update so a friend recommended I come here which must have been the entitled people subreddit. My posting on am I the arsehole essentially opened a Pandora's box in the family. Basically my parents and older sister had become very comfortable with me helping with the childcare of my young triplet

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_00] nephews. I didn't leave home until I was 22 because I was trying to save money while also going to college. A scholarship covered a lot and living at home kept me from getting rising debt due to my working part-time as well. I'm very thankful for this. However after college everyone just seemed to act like I had endless time on my hands and convinced me along on a family vacation. In this so-called vacation I was forced to babysit my three at the time six-year-old nephews. I'd even had to

[00:13:19] [SPEAKER_00] share a hotel room with them and believe me those kids did not listen to a damn thing I said on the first night until I called their mother twice. I was treated like the bad guy for wanting to do other things during the trip. Like if it's something the family doesn't enjoy as a whole then it doesn't happen. Which was extremely hypocritical because I'm family and wasn't included in that vote. And you bet I aired this grievance with my parents after my last post and they have acknowledged being

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_00] in the wrong. After that awful vacation last year I decided it was time to move out and did so before the summer even ended. Which surprised everyone as I gave them no warning. I'd landed a great job pretty much right after college thanks to an internship and used moving as an excuse to drop my commute from 45 minutes to 15. My sister hated this the most because it meant no more free babysitting on

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_00] weekends. But she still tried to make me do it. I caved sometimes usually being bribed with pizza and this sort of became a new norm. But then last month my parents announced plans for another family vacation to do the same place along the coast and they basically wanted it to go the same way. I immediately saw it for what it was. A trap. I knew that if I rode with my parents and let them buy the hotel rooms I'd be screwed over the same way as last time. So I just casually stated I'd drive myself

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_00] and pay for myself and that's when the shitstorm started. When my parents realized they couldn't entrap me like before. They resorted to borderline begging and my sister practically tried to order me to go with the flow through gaslighting. Newsflash. I didn't. After I didn't cave to my sister's demands. I made the am I the asshole post after days of harassment. And then my sister somehow spotted the post in less than an hour. What followed was Pandora's box. At first the family

[00:15:05] [SPEAKER_00] was against me. My sister called our parents and they called me. But I still had little time to talk in the morning. My parents were on the phone with me while also reading my post. I asked them if anything in the post was a lie. They sort of steered around it and called the post an exaggeration. But I pointed out numerous details that made it pretty much on the mark. Then I told them to check the comments. There were already far too many to read. I was repeatedly refreshing the page on my

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_00] own PC and telling them how many comments there were. Then I told them that I was sick of their mentality of keeping the peace by forcing me to placate my sister. Then I said I was out of time and would have to resume this later. Well my parents were positively horrified that hundreds if not thousands of people were commenting in a matter of hours. And later on I told him that the numbers had basically doubled and were still growing. Which only added to their horror. So I guess they were

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER_00] forced to take a long look at their own actions. My sister tried to call me a bitch while I was at work. But my phone was on silent till my lunch break. So all she could do was leave messages and texts. But she was persistent and managed to get through to me when I was eating my lunch. The gist of the conversation was my post had taken our parents away from her side. And now they were mad at her. In the ensuing argument between them, my parents cancelled the entire vacation. Yes, they later acknowledged they just passed the blame out of embarrassment.

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_00] And a fully accepted fault. They told me no excuses could excuse the fact that they made me their go-to free babysitter. When I wasn't even living at home anymore. They did try to backtrack a little by pointing out they never charged me rent while I was in college. But I reminded them kids don't ask to be born. I was doing my hardest to make my own way. Then I pointed out my father had the same kind of leg up from his parents. They let him live free of charge at home while he was in

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_00] college. That basically ended any argument my parents had left. When my sister managed to call me at lunch, I presented the facts to her. And she showed her true colors. She implied that I have no life. And that my free time on weekends should be spent helping her because she is tired and unable to even go out without bringing her children with her. Unless someone is watching them. She's a stay-at-home mother with a husband that makes a decent salary. They live in a pretty decent house

[00:17:19] [SPEAKER_00] that's owned, not rented. And to be frank, my nephews aren't really my responsibility. They just forced them on me and expected it to stay that way. My sister angrily hung up on me. But I recorded the call and then played it to my parents later. They were furious and they basically went to war with my sister. My sister dug her heels in, blamed me and then doubled down on her belief my life should circle around hers. I told her that was the most narcissistic and entitled thing she's

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_00] ever said about me. It took days, but her husband finally stepped in and forced her to apologize to me. I'd never seen her cowed like that by anyone, but she was on the verge of crying. It ended up being admitted that one of the reasons I was the go-to babysitter was because my sister didn't trust strangers. It was never about money. Or was it? Actually, my brother-in-law thought my sister was paying me for my time watching her kids after I moved out of my parents' house. She didn't even give

[00:18:12] [SPEAKER_00] me gas money, just gave me cash that was enough to order pizza for both myself and the kids and pocketed the rest. My sister had been short-changing me for months. He blew up at her when this came out during her half-arsed apology and she was forced to pay me what she owed me in cash entirely from her own savings, which she looked very sore about. Then my brother-in-law apologized to me for his own inaction and letting my sister walk all over me and promised to get a normal babysitter

[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_00] from now on. Yes, it'd be a bit of a drop in the bucket for them, but my sister would be getting date nights back. Then came the family meeting the other day's evening. We all gathered up at my parents' house and everything was laid bare. Apologies all around and whatnot. Then my parents reinstated the family vacation. And yes, I still plan to drive myself and pay for my own hotel stay. I'll even stay in a completely different hotel if my sister tries to revert me to childcare.

[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_00] And I have stated this. She's promised me that won't happen. And if I don't update again after the vacation in another month or so, then you'll all know everything is fine. There is another update by the way. Someone said, Did sis emotionally abuse you when you were growing up? Opie responded saying she put me down a fair bit when I was a kid. We've got a decent different in age, but that stopped when she moved out on her own. It didn't really start up again until she had kids. Because once that happened,

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_00] she set her sights on me as the free help. Yes, she did gaslight me if I complained, whined to our parents that I wasn't being helpful enough, and then a fight with my parents and her. Thankfully, college forced them to all ease up on me because I was busy with my education and an internship. Unfortunately, once I graduated college, my sister took it as a free pass to believe I had endless time on my hands. But now that I've shown my backbone, I won't ever let her walk all over me like that again. And she knows it too because I said it to her face.

[00:20:02] [SPEAKER_00] I just feel sorry for whatever babysitters she hires, because she's no doubt going to want to look down on them. I stated that to my brother-in-law and warned him that I won't hesitate to go on Reddit about it if she does treat them like crap. He was not happy with me, but he also admitted he understood my point and will make sure she does not do that. Things are kind of neutral between us currently. So it was six days after this one that Opie came in again and said, having a family that knows about your Reddit account has its disadvantages.

[00:20:31] [SPEAKER_00] Yesterday, my sister called me after I got off work to ask me if the comments are still coming in. She said she cannot bear the negativity of looking at them herself because the comments are so hurtful towards her. So I was brutally honest. At least 10 comments are still coming in daily and most of them more or less say the same things about her. She started crying and demanding I delete my Reddit posts, but I refused and told her she can cry to anyone she wants, but the posts stay up because they are my assurance she won't try to treat me like crap anymore.

[00:20:59] [SPEAKER_00] After all, she literally felt like my life should revolve around hers, didn't pay me the babysitting money she was supposed to and pocketed it for herself and forced me to be the constant babysitter on last year's family vacation. So I had pretty much no fun the entire time. Is it really any wonder people having so much hate for her when she treated me like that? Then when I mentioned the post, have it already spread to other websites because I was asked a couple of times to let an article be made about my situation and there are some

[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_00] videos that were read as well. My sister shrieked hearing that and hung up. My parents then called me begging I take the post down. I refused and stated, I only did this because they didn't stick up for me. This would have never happened if they told my sister to treat me like an equal and not a servant. I'm not a butler, babysitter or handyman. I'm a freaking brother and a grown ass man. Wouldn't they be tired of this crap in my shoes too? They agreed but still begged to take the post

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_00] down. I refused and said that I keep making more if they don't start sticking up for me more when my sister comes crying to them. Let her clean up her own messes because all of the enabling of her led to this. I didn't father those kids. I've got a life of my own, a career I'm still new to and hopefully soon enough a girlfriend as there's someone I want to ask out. I'm moving my life forward and I won't be held back. They can either step out of my way or keep trying to enable my sister.

[00:22:21] [SPEAKER_00] But I assured them that the latter would end badly for them. The only way this posting on reddit will stop is if the drama stops. I've kept things anonymous and I've got a right to vent my very valid frustrations. Well, that left my mother crying. My father just went silent and I said tears don't move me. They know what it'll take to end this and that's to stop enabling my sister. Well, my sister called me again to yell at me that our parents have told her that they aren't

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_00] dealing with this anymore and to figure it out herself. Oh, and they told her to be nicer to me too. I just pictured her eye twitching as she internally screamed after hearing that. Be nice to my kid brother. What is this? Do I look it up on Google? Yeah, I was that sarcastic to her, but it left her crying too when I hung up. My brother-in-law called me later to get my side of the story. He was mad I'm still posting and made his wife cry, but I explained everything to him and he said

[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_00] he'd have another talk with my sister. I'm hoping this drama finally ends here, but the family vacation is still on for late June. I've already booked my room and put in for a day off work so we can all leave on Friday. My room is also not near the ones my parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews will be using. In fact, that's not even on the same floor. And when we go to the coast, when it's not a family activity, I'm going to go where I want and do what I want. And you can bet

[00:23:41] [SPEAKER_00] I'm going to tour those art galleries, pig out on local food and just enjoy being carefree for a change. So it was almost a month after that post that OP came in again and says, well, the family vacation is over. Some things both good and bad went as expected. Good in that being my parents didn't enable my sister trying to make me babysit. Oh yes, she did try, but bad in that my sister did try to find out which room I was in, but that failed and got her in trouble with her

[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_00] husband again. Firstly, I made sure to tell the hotel in advance that they were not to give out any of my information to anyone who asked except for the police. If something needed that were to come to pass, they assured me over the phone that they would not tell a soul. Then on the day of the vacation, I left earlier in the morning than the rest of the family. I knew they wouldn't be able to get moving as a group to at least 10am, so I left at 9am. Check-in wouldn't be until 1pm,

[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_00] but I wanted to make sure I had a head start. I sent out an FWI group text and was off like a shot to make the 3 hour drive. My parents were upset that they'd planned a family brunch on the way, but I pointed out I was never made aware of that, so it was cancelled in favour of fast food. Like I planned, I arrived to the hotel early. Too early for check-in, but I told the desk staff I was there to make sure my parents or sister didn't give them my information. They claimed they don't do

[00:24:57] [SPEAKER_00] that, but I told them I know for a fact that it still happens sometimes, so I'm covering my arse. When they happened to be dealing with my mother and my sister and 3 potentially crying boys trying to guilt them at the desk, they'd better not yield. And I wanted to know if they'd try anything. They awkwardly promised me no one would get access to my room. Then I decided to go out and get something to eat. I came back more than an hour later, and there was my parents' car and my

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_00] brother-in-law's big SUV. I went to the desk to check in after making sure the lobby was clear, and it was. Then I asked the clerk if my family had asked about me and where I was staying in the hotel. Yeah, they did, but the clerk refused to tell them. My sister had apparently tried to push it, but her husband shut her up. I checked in, went to my room, and called my folks. I didn't mention that I knew that they tried with the clerk, and they conveniently didn't mention it either.

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_00] Then we all met up as a family to go out and tour around. My sister at one point asked me to watch her kids for a moment, to which I replied, hell no, because I knew exactly what she was doing. She'd pretend to be gone for a moment, and then would be gone for an hour. I called her out, and her husband told her to stop trying to make me watch their kids. What did my sister do? She started crying on the spot that she needs a break. Her husband scolded her that he's a tired man,

[00:26:13] [SPEAKER_00] but he wasn't complaining. My mother gave me a nasty look, so I went right to her and said that if she even tries to think that I should be watching those kids, I'd walk away from this family vacation right now. It's not my job, and I'm sick and tired of her, and my sister acting like it is. Well, that made my mother start crying too, and then she just started repeating the words, you're right, over and over again. This is another old tactic of hers. She tries to look pathetic to guilt me, but I just said I am

[00:26:41] [SPEAKER_00] right, and I just let it go, before walking away. Neither my mother or sister tried anything for the rest of the day. When we got back to the hotel after dinner, my family were all crowding the elevator, but I didn't get in with them. They asked why, and I said I'd wait for the next one. My sister glared at me because she knew exactly what I was doing, and I just sat in the lobby watching YouTube on my phone for 15 minutes, and then I took the elevator up. I was on a different floor, and on the other end of the hotel. I had a splendid night, and the next morning we all went out

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_00] for breakfast, but I made sure they left first. I was the last one out, just like I was the last one in the night before. Breakfast went fine, and then gave an FWI that I was going to be doing my own thing for the day. My mother tried to bring up plans to go to the aquarium, and a couple of other places, so I said I'd meet them for those, but the rest of the day was mine until family dinner. They accepted this, and that day went fine too. Back at the hotel that evening though, my sister

[00:27:36] [SPEAKER_00] caught me leaving my room. She must have been stalking the whole floor looking for me. I went back to my room to chill a bit before dinner because I was tired from walking so much. My sister was just down the hall when I left my room to meet them for dinner. She tried to corner me and say that I'd ruin the family vacation for her because now it wasn't hardly any different for her than at home since she had to wrangle her kids. I called bull spit because my parents were helping her a lot. Then I told her I'm sick of this song

[00:28:03] [SPEAKER_00] and dance of being her scapegoat, and it's already over, so leave me the hell alone and get on with your own life. Then I started walking with her yelling, hey, I'm trying to talk to you. I told her I didn't give a crap and was going to dinner. She followed me to the elevator, and we both said nothing to each other. I didn't stay silent until my parents and brother-in-law that my sister had stalked me to find my room. She was scolded like a child. She had a pity party.

[00:28:28] [SPEAKER_00] I told her to stop milking it and grow up. The old days when she could force her will on me were over, and then I walked out of the lobby and to my car. This time I was the first one to dinner when everyone else arrived. My sister looked depressed, but not a damn thing was said about what happened before, and that was just fine with me. My sister refrained from making eye contact with me the entire evening, and this time I didn't give a crap about riding in the elevator with the rest of

[00:28:53] [SPEAKER_00] them. I just told them bluntly that unless it was an emergency, no one is to come knocking on my door. I had a do not disturb sign for a reason. The final day, everything went swimmingly. Neither my sister or mother bothered me at all. I'd fully surrendered at this point. Yes, during the whole vacation I did play with my nephews a bit. I'm not a complete jerk. I didn't stonewall them. I kept being the fun uncle, just not the babysitter uncle. The kids didn't even seem to care. They just

[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_00] wanted to play. I even bought each of them one of those little baggies of crystals and polished stones to take home as a souvenir. It was a bit of mild drama between my sister and her husband, but that was just some small disagreements that I didn't bother to pay attention to. All in all, I'd call the vacation a win because it finally hit home from my mother and sister that the old way they did things involving me was over, and I had my own life. Opie comes in with one more post and says they really don't know when to leave well enough alone.

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_00] Hey mom. Hey sis. I warned you that if it didn't stop, I would go right back to Reddit. And here I am. The short of it is that my mother and sister saw my last post and freaked out. My sister was stalking my account for days because she knew I'd post. Well, what did she expect? That I would just say everybody had a good time? She called me and cried that I made her look like a bad mother. I ended up replying, well, if the glass slipper fits. My sister argued with me some more, but I asked

[00:30:17] [SPEAKER_00] her to name anything in the post that was a lie. She tried several times, but I pointed out that every detail was spot on. So what does she do? She calls mommy. Then my mother showed up at my door demanding I delete all the posts. I told her no, and now I have ammunition for one more. I ended up making her leave crying. I spoke with my mother and father over the phone later and bluntly told them that their enabling of my sister led to the previous family dynamic. I will never go back to how

[00:30:44] [SPEAKER_00] things were. So if they have any hope of that left, I'm snuffing it out for good. My parents then told my sister that for the love of God to stop blaming me and to leave me alone. They can't take the stress of my retaliation anymore. Well, my sister had a literal no one loves me pity party and my parents had to snap her back to reality. My brother-in-law hasn't called. Pretty sure he's staying indifferent and neutral, but this can't be good for his marriage or my

[00:31:09] [SPEAKER_00] familiar connection to him. So out of respect to my brother-in-law, I'm sorry man, but your wife pushed me too far. Currently my parents are insisting my sister gets counseling because she can't be a good mom and juggle the habits of her old life too. Woman up as they say. Either way, I'm hoping this is my last post. You hear that sis? If you don't stop thinking I should have been your personal slave, babysitter, watchdog, etc, etc, I want to keep acting like the whole world is against you because you

[00:31:37] [SPEAKER_00] can't lord over me. Then we can't be around each other. Maybe we can get along and move past this crap if you're willing. Don't give me a reason to write anything else and Reddit posts about you end here. I'll only post ones involving me and the treatment I get from people. Treat me like a decent human being and this will be over. At some point, Opie added this section as well saying, my parents and I had a long talk in which they've apologized and for the moment we've agreed that I keep a bit of distance until Thanksgiving. I also had a man-to-man talk with my

[00:32:07] [SPEAKER_00] brother-in-law last night over some cold beers. He told me my sister needed counseling or he would separate from her and they are in the process of finding her a counselor. He also told me that while my sister was an absolute witch to me, at home she's very loving and endearing wife. But she also admitted that she liked being an only child. We're nearly a decade apart in age so my sister held on to some resentment about that for a long time and just let it build up. She agreed that she

[00:32:32] [SPEAKER_00] does need counseling and will be going as soon as they get it set up. They've also found a qualified babysitter to look after my nephews. Aside from those things, my brother-in-law did admit that he was angry with me too but didn't step in when I needed him. So we've agreed that this was all just a very bad situation that needs to be ended. So we're gonna let it rest in peace from here on out. Lastly, these posts have gotten me a girlfriend. The girl I like had a feeling it was me after she read

[00:32:59] [SPEAKER_00] them and was just waiting for me to say something and we'll be going on our first day tonight. So I thank everybody here for their immense support. They really needed it. I was just left wondering through a lot of that why Opie even wanted to go on that vacation to begin with. He could have just went somewhere completely different, done his own thing every single day and just been happy, I think. But I guess sometimes family's just gonna family like that, right?

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_00] But what do you guys make of this situation? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below. And just a huge thank you for being here today, getting involved in the stories, your love, your support, your time. It always means the absolute world to me. So thank you so, so much and hopefully I'm gonna see you in the next one. Take care and much love.