My In-Laws Keep Booking Vacations For OUR FAMILY Without Us Even Knowing

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER_00] Hey Waffle Gang, I do hope you're well. My name is Mark and today we're checking out some more, take a guess, Reddit Stories. And if you do love a Reddit story, why not consider hitting that like, subscribe, maybe that notification bell too. Let's crack on with today's first story. Much love guys. Now today's first story comes from the Am I Overreacting subreddit from tokenyetie658 and says,

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00] Am I overreacting for refusing to go on a vacation with my in-laws that was booked without our knowledge? My mother-in-law is extremely family orientated and lives alone after being widowed about 10 years ago. I'm married to her eldest son and we have a baby. Her other son is also married with a toddler.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00] Before we all had kids, she used to book family vacations for all of us using a timeshare system she has without asking us if we wanted to go or even checking if the dates worked for us. This would often involve driving three plus hours to a town that doesn't have anything we want to see or do. She's also done this with theatre tickets, sports tickets, etc. in her city which is five hours away from us.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_00] We make the drive at least every two to three months and stay with her at her house for several days each time. So it's not like this is the only way she'll see us. We mentioned multiple times, subtly, that she needs to check with us before booking things. I thought she got the memo until this Christmas she gifted us all a week vacation together in a ski town in May to celebrate a significant work anniversary for her.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00] It's a six hour drive for us, closer for her and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. I simply don't want to go. She said she chose that date specifically because it's before I returned to work following my maternity leave. But being on maternity leave doesn't necessarily mean I'm available. And it definitely doesn't mean I want to incur the expense of food, gas, etc. on this gift. If she had asked us before booking it and presented it as something she wanted to do to celebrate this milestone for her career,

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_00] I would have sucked it up since I understand family time is very important to her and she doesn't have a spouse to celebrate this work anniversary with. However, I find the way she went about it infantilizing and ultimately kind of manipulative. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are also not thrilled. Neither of them are even certain they can get the time off work. But my husband and brother-in-law seem determined to try and make it work without acknowledging the way she did it is not okay.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00] I told my husband we can either have a talk with her to tell her in no uncertain terms she needs to stop spending money and making reservations without checking with us first. Or I will not be going on this vacation and neither will her exclusively breastfed grandchild. Commenter says, Info, you're being subtle. Why? Opie says because my husband is afraid of hurting her feelings and isn't willing to stand up to her.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00] Commenter says not overreacting but let your husband go with the baby by himself. Win-win. He gets to please his mother, you get to stay home. You can do your final recharging and prep before returning to work. As the last few months with a baby must have been exhausting. Not overreacting. Not even a little bit. Those shenanigans would do my head in. Plus, your postpartum. Hell no! Opie says, I like this idea. However, my baby is exclusively breastfed.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00] Unfortunately, the idea would probably truly delight my mother-in-law to have the opportunity to play house with my baby and husband without me there. Commenter says you are overreacting because all of you have been enabling mother-in-law's behavior for years. What's different this time? You said you would have said yes if she had asked, but since she didn't ask your answer is no. Sorry, but that doesn't make any sense at all.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00] It sounds like your plan is to tell her to stop making reservations while at the same time you're all going on this trip even though no one really wants to. I'm curious why no one in this family can tell mom no. Because her behavior is ridiculous. What's everyone afraid of? Is she a wealthy widow whose boys are afraid of getting cut out of the will if they cross her? Opie says no. Definitely not any financial incentive.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00] It's more so that she resolves her entire life around her kids and is an extremely emotional and sentimental person. Since her husband passed, it would have told her her behavior is ridiculous. Her son feels too guilty to reel her in. Opie then explains more about not liking spending time with her mother-in-law. To say this, it's not that I don't like spending time with her. I spend quite a bit of time with her. More than I do with either of my own parents put together.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00] Things like this make me like spending time with her less because it makes me feel like I don't get a choice in the matter. I suck it up. I meant the inconvenience of traveling six hours to get to a ski town in off season that I'm no interest in with a screaming baby in the car. Plus making arrangements for a dog sitter, planning meals while away or paying for restaurants etc. It's all the hassle of going away without the incentive of it being a place I want to be. Commodore says you must not like skiing.

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00] Opie says it's May in Canada. There will be no skiing. Also, I have a baby who obviously can't ski. Someone says is it easy for mother-in-law to take time off work? Opie says yes. She has lots of vacation time saved up and takes vacations whenever my husband and I happen to be in town. She's so eager to use her vacation time on her family. She doesn't consider that we may all have other priorities for our vacation. Including making time to see my family too and traveling places we actually want to go.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00] Someone says how does mother-in-law get away with this? Opie says I agree. It's somewhat impressive how her two sons will simply go along with what she wants even at great inconvenience to themselves and their wives. This would never fly in my own family and with my siblings and parents. Opie explains how her maternity leave in her area. Opie says actually I'm in Canada so my maternity leave is 12 months. Trip is scheduled for 11 months into it. Baby has been here for a while but you're on the nose for sure.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00] We did a nine week NICU stay. Absolutely not overreacting in my perspective. Being gifted a six, a mandatory six hour drive with a baby. All the planning around it as well. I'm exhausted thinking about it. But let's face it. The husband and the brother who also enable mother-in-law in this situation is just not helping things. Afraid of hurting her feelings. But what about Opie? What about their family?

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00] And basically the uncomfortable conversation has to happen with his mom and saying look we can't keep doing this. Because at this moment in time being subtle just isn't helping anymore is it? But Opie did come back in with an update and says thanks everyone who commented on my original post. After the trip was initially presented by my mother-in-law to crickets and souring the mood before we all opened our gifts to one another.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00] I let the matter settle for a few days and then calmly explained to my husband that I will not be attending the trip. My original post said I would have sucked it up and went if mother-in-law had asked us first. But after really thinking about it I know that I would have definitely pushed for different dates, a different location and shorter duration if we had really been consulted. I said I'm more than happy to explain to mother-in-law that I have a limited capacity to go away and visit family.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_00] And we put a lot of thought into how we go about these visits since I also have siblings, parents and grandparents that live far away. Not to mention that we need to leave some time to spend with our own family of three. I didn't appreciate having these decisions taken away from us. He didn't try to convince me but he was clearly very disappointed and believes I should go. When I told him my maternity leave is precious time to me and not anyone else is to determine how I will spend it. He said that doesn't make any sense since the baby will be there too.

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_00] Somehow he doesn't understand why this is different from another trip planned long ago with my coordination to visit my own family at a location and on dates we agreed to. He then called his brother who was upfront about the fact that he and my sister-in-law aren't eager to go either. And they all agreed that brother-in-law will break the news that none of us is going. Sadly my husband is a lot more sympathetic to my brother-in-law wanting to spend his limited vacation time on a trip with his child and wife than he was to my own explanation.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_00] My husband is also insisting we all think of an alternative weekend getaway we can pitch to celebrate my mother-in-law's work anniversary with her to soften the blow we won't be going. He read that right. He's trying to come up with an alternative to the Christmas gift she gave us to celebrate her. Sigh. I know commenters are correct that I have a husband problem but there's only so much I can do.

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_00] He's overall a wonderful man and there are worse things than a mother-in-law who schemes to spend time with her sons and a husband who doesn't understand why I don't want to spend every possible moment with his family and ultimately tries very hard to protect his mom's feelings at the expense of my peace. I'm sure this isn't the last headache I have with them. So as always there was comments with replies from the OP. First one said your marriage your choice to continue with this. No real room to complain if you don't push back at your husband being still on the tit.

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_00] OP says I'm pushing back by refusing to go on the trip. I think that's the natural and responsible consequence here. What else are you suggesting? Commoner says honestly I think having a husband who prioritizes his mother's feelings over his wife's peace is a pretty big problem that you are underreacting to. Being married to a man who doesn't get why you don't want to spend every moment with his mommy sounds like an absolute nightmare. Especially since she's manipulative and he's spineless.

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_00] Not a great combination for you to live with for the rest of your life. I wish you luck. OP replied saying you're not wrong. We've been together more than 10 years and this is by far our biggest reoccurring argument. Commoner says not overreacting have you ever told your husband that he protects his mom's feelings at the expense of your peace? OP says yes. In his perspective it's normal and okay for family members to be inconvenienced in order to protect someone's feelings.

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER_00] OP on her mother-in-law wanting to celebrate her work anniversary with family instead of her employment and then says this is exactly it. She feels unacknowledged at work and wants to celebrate this milestone. Weird but nothing wrong with celebrating it as long as you aren't forcing other people to participate. Another commenter says so your husband is the eldest son. Yet his brother is the one that has to make the phone call to mom. Yeah your husband needs to grow a spine already.

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_00] OP says since he's the eldest he took on the caretaker role for his mother while the younger brother is still her baby. OP clarifies the maternity leave and her baby's current age. OP says if the math is confusing you long story short we had two months medical leave after the baby was born extremely premature. So baby will be 14 plus months at the end of the 12 month maternity leave. Someone says what happens when OP talks with her husband about her feelings and thoughts?

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_00] OP says he gets defensive and disagrees and tells me I'm being selfish for not wanting to go when his mom is all by herself and wants to celebrate this career milestone with her family. OP tells me my family can also be annoying. OP says he gets defensive and reminds me they won't be around forever and we want our child to have a relationship with grandparents etc etc etc. OP says okay.

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER_00] Oh bloody hell so it just got worse at the end with a husband who seems to have his priorities all ass backwards in the end. Because he's prioritizing his mom's feeling over his own family and just bends to his mom's will. And the real telling bit for me was when he suddenly got it when his brother doesn't want to go but then says his own wife's boundaries are selfish. And then he's wanting to plan an alternate celebration for the gift that she forced on them.

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_00] come on and I don't think this is a situation where OP should just let lie and you know there are worse things out there I don't think it should be that because this is far bigger than that because mother-in-law is never going to change unless something is said but what do you guys make of this situation let us know your thoughts down in the comments below and let's move on to

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_00] another story now our next story comes from again the am I overreacting subreddit from mmm bogging me who says I only want one thing for Christmas and it never happens am I overreacting I should start by giving a background as to who I am I'm 27 years old I live about an hour from my hometown and I visit my folks pretty regularly but especially for holidays now I realize I've lost

[00:12:57] [SPEAKER_00] many of you with my age understanding a large number of families only kids really get Christmas gifts and you may be right but in mine adults gift to adults kids gift to kids kids gift to adults adults gift to kids everybody gets something now I hate telling people what I want for Christmas slash birthday stuff feels entitled I know irony of posting a complaint on reddit than saying I'm not

[00:13:22] [SPEAKER_00] entitled to ask for stuff since I was 12 I didn't want people to get me birthday gifts or throw me a party and largely my family respected that but that still left Christmas now when my grandpa was alive I remember he'd always go to the local European grocery he was an ethnic Hungarian from Austria and get a few of those chocolate oranges the big ones you have to smack on the table before opening to get

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_00] the pieces separate he died back in 2017 and I miss him terribly and every year when my family asks what do you want for Christmas I tell them you know one of those chocolate oranges like papa used to get and they never do it now I know that sounds super silly why don't you just get your own damn orange I don't know it just isn't the same somehow it's a thing I associate with family just having at home

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_00] suddenly around Christmas and I'm chasing that experience and I know it'll never be the same but still I just remember cracking them open with my cousins and walking around the room to all the aunts and uncles going hey over here I'll take a piece etc and I just miss that a whole lot every year what do you want for Christmas chocolate orange and every year no chocolate orange literally the only thing I ask for I know I shouldn't be upset about it there are people who don't even get a

[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_00] decent meal on Christmas let alone presents but somehow year after year get a few timu or five below things which will be thrown out pretty much as fast as they came in and I question well why the hell didn't they just get the damn orange it would have cost less been more appreciated and been consumed only marginally faster than the other junk it's literally the only thing I ask for this year I've got

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_00] my dad a new seat cover and slow moving vehicle triangle for his tractor I got my brother who just started college a used folding bike and replaced the tires grips grease the chain etc because he doesn't want to bring his bike from home up and have it stolen got a few jigsaw puzzles from my stepmom she likes to do them and a set of Lincoln logs for my cousin's kids and I'm excited to watch them open the presents I got them and I'm sure whatever they got me will be great but I just get so disappointed

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_00] every year when there is no damn orange and this is eight years since Papa died and well I don't know there's nothing really significant about eight years but I'm just certain that come Christmas morning if there's no damn orange I'm gonna lose it now firstly I had to look up Lincoln logs because he said he was getting them for his cousin's kids I thought he was like buying him a bag of like firewood if you don't know like me that they just like little tiny logs that you can construct like

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00] little log cabins and forts out of according to Google actually look quite fun to be fair all right it just made me really sad in the end for this guy all he's wanted is this chocolate orange that's all he asks for if he was local to me I would bloody get him a chocolate orange or three but the top commenter on this one says you're now the magic holder for your nieces and nephews you bring chocolate oranges for the kids every year you relish in the memories there's only one

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_00] rule we don't share these with the adults necessary says honestly I think it's time for you to take over the tradition from your grandfather and buy the oranges to pass out don't let happy memories disappear just because no one buys them for you buy them and make new happy memories with your family and there were just many comments saying exactly the same it's time for you to take over the tradition

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_00] which I think would be a wonderful thing to do maybe healing for opie at the same time walking in his grandfather's steps carrying on his tradition I think that's a lovely thing to do but it was 15 days later after Christmas that opie came back in to update and said hello all hope everybody had a nice set of holidays and is enjoying the new year many many of you replied to my previous post regarding

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_00] my frustration at not receiving a chocolate orange for Christmas if that sounds stupid it's because it kind of is but you can read the original post here for context just wanted to update everybody on how it all shook out well my dad and mum both really enjoyed the gifts I got them my cousin's kids chose my Lincoln Logs gift as the one they wanted to open and play with at the family gathering over and above a

[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_00] small set of trucks that look like dinosaurs which all park on a larger dinosaur truck I praise my brother well he didn't like the bike as much I guess mister hey I want to explore the city more I don't want to bring my bike up in case it gets stolen suddenly wasn't so interested in a non stealable bike you could explore the city on later had the goal to say to us I just wish I had gotten something practical as though he hadn't just gotten the most practical thing any college student could

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_00] have anyway you can't win them all a few days before Christmas my folks and I were in target and I saw the chocolate oranges I pointed them out and was met with a yuck who likes those so that was about as fun as you'd imagine now many many of you suggested rightly that I'd just become the relative who brings chocolate oranges for the kids and so I did there was a really very food memory centric celebration this

[00:18:40] [SPEAKER_00] year I gave the kids the oranges just the way they were dark chocolate orange flavor kind of gross to the kids but the sort of thing they came back for more of after a few minutes fond memories from the adults my uncle bought relish sandwiches following a discussion about having fed my dad those when tasked with watching him as a kid yep just white bread with hot dog relish in it we had a great time and I've become the weird relative who brings candy that isn't great but which you come to associate

[00:19:09] [SPEAKER_00] with Christmas time forever as for me doesn't really matter what I got a few cans of rust reformer spray on account of my nearly 26 year old car is a little rusty in places a tube of twix bars and a pizza pizzazz from the white elephant I got to see them kids who are going through their parents divorces eyes light up when they opened a box I gave them got to remember being that young got to remember my own grandfather for a little while all in all you gave great advice and I feel a bit more at peace with the

[00:19:39] [SPEAKER_00] thank you all for that that sounded really lovely from opie and I'm glad things did go in a relatively good direction for them but I just couldn't get my mind off the relish sandwiches what the is that a normal thing I mean I can't talk when I was younger I used to have chocolate spread and cheese sandwiches I thought I created those when I was younger but I come to find other people eating too absolutely mind blown but what do you guys make of this situation what weird sandwich

[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_00] combos have you come up with let us know your thoughts down in the comments below and let's move on to another story oh bloody hell all the Christmas stories are updating at the moment this one's from the true off my chest subreddit from system funny five four four nine and it says I'm so disappointed by Christmas and my boyfriend this year I 30 female feel so bratty and spoiled right now because of how

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_00] my boyfriend 32 male treated Christmas and me this year gift giving and acts of service are my love language and I know I shouldn't put so much value on it but I really love receiving gifts on Christmas my boyfriend knows this I have a large family and buy for everyone I don't go crazy but I spend about a thousand dollars over eight to nine people money isn't necessarily an issue because I do have a job

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_00] but I also take care of a home and my boyfriend's four-year-old so when my paycheck falls short my boyfriend will cover me he makes about eight times more than I do by the way but anyway I love giving gifts and receiving them he knows this very well but he also thinks he knows better than me and he doesn't think I need to buy for my family or that they don't deserve it over the past month or so I've casually and not so casually dropped hints on what I want a new perfume since I finally ran out

[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_00] of the one he got me last year possibly a new vacuum for the house and the one thing I really wanted an antique curio cabinet that I found on Facebook marketplace they usually go for $500 to $3,000 depending on where you look and this one was only $200 and in perfect condition I even contacted the seller and spoke to my boyfriend about it and he kept hinting that I would be getting the cabinet but alas I came home from Christmas spending Christmas day with my family and he from his

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_00] fathers we chose to spend the holiday morning separate with each other's families and then do dinner together and there's not a single gift waiting for me he didn't even clean the house or try to do something nice for me as a gift because honestly I would have taken a deep clean house as a gift he apparently waited until Christmas Eve to order me one thing and then said I didn't get more because I spent so much on my family meanwhile I got him a very expensive hunting knife and a new hat

[00:22:23] [SPEAKER_00] which he complained about the color even though it goes with all of his clothes I'm just so disappointed and upset by the lack of effort my sister and her husband literally went out of their way to get me a Dyson air wrap because I mentioned how I was saving to get one since my boyfriend thought it was unnecessary and to have them ask me what he got me and have to say that I came home to nothing is so embarrassing I don't know I understand this is such a first world problem but I'm just so sad to

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_00] come home to the lack of effort I'm sad that he knows my love languages and did nothing for them being told I didn't get anything because of how I gifted my family even though we have the money I feel so unappreciated I take care of the house I take care of his autistic four-year-old full-time I do everything a good girlfriend should do and this is how I get treated I'm just so sad I'm obviously not asking for advice I just had to get this off my chest this Christmas genuinely broke something in me

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_00] edits slash updates I'm realizing just how deep I'm in and how blind I've been I thought this is a one-off situation and things have gotten better but clearly he just continued to abuse and devalue me I started reading why does he do that and I'm nauseous over how spot on it is I've also scheduled a therapy session in hope of figuring out a way for me to actually leave this time and not let him manipulate me the way he's continuously done in the past I deserve so much more in life not even in a

[00:23:50] [SPEAKER_00] materialistic way but just in a way I'm treated by my partner I hope my next edit and update will be saying I finally left this post in everyone's responses have opened my eyes to the changes that need to be made so the first commenter says to op have a heart-to-heart conversation tell him how hurt you are by the lack of effort you need to evaluate whether it really is the lack of effort or whether you really just wanted a nice piece of jewelry if he doesn't think he'll ever meet up to your standards

[00:24:17] [SPEAKER_00] of gift giving then you need to end it now it pieces I did try to communicate my disappointment and he laughed at me and said your gift money was spent on your family we'd established a budget for my gifts and I stayed within it I don't think me buying gifts for my loved ones meant I wasn't getting anything in return commenter says did you get money from him to buy gifts from yourself to gift your family if so you're the one using him to make yourself feel good about your gift giving

[00:24:44] [SPEAKER_00] op says I send in my entire paycheck every month from work and he gives me back my money to pay my bills and to spend as I see fit for the household what commenter says why are you with him again what do you like about him did he get this child any gifts honestly it sounds like he doesn't even like you he treats you as a bang maid who raises a kid for him you want to live the rest of your life like this in a constant state of embarrassment and disappointment

[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_00] my husband got me a coach purse a gucci perfume and a brand new hilton pillows because when we took a trip last year I was obsessed with the pillows at the hotel you deserve so much better go find it op says at this point I don't know why I think I'm just afraid of how my family was right and how I have to pick up the pieces commenter says he makes eight times your wage what do you make eight to ten dollars an hour find that hard to believe op says I make about 45 000 and he brings

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_00] about 350 000 plus depending on how well his business does so it's absolutely possible commenter says what was his reasoning for not giving you a gift really like how does how much you spent on your family related to him buying you something it seems like he just doesn't want to give you anything it's a half-ass excuse to not spend money on you op says my gift money was spent on my family i spent too much meanwhile he has no issues buying shitty trucks off facebook marketplace or dropping hundreds

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_00] on roids and gym stuff someone says about op's boyfriend's thoughts on the spending budget and then says he says i'm not responsible with my money and he needs to monitor my spending mind you before him i was a successful real estate agent and gave that up for a work from home job that pays one third of what i was making and never had issues paying my bills and spending before him someone asks what's scaring op for not leaving him op says the fact that everyone was right about him how i set myself back and

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_00] put myself in so much debt being with him having to rebuild everything he's destroyed also leaving his son and knowing that without me he will be failed it was about a week after this op came in with an update and said hi everyone just sort of post an update hopefully it's allowed but i 30 female posted after christmas about how my boyfriend dropped the ball with christmas and that made me take a hard look in the mirror and actually be honest about how bad he was treating me and how i felt was not normal for

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_00] any relationship anyways i started the process of leaving i was completely honest with my mom and family with what was going on with my boyfriend and how miserable i've been they've invited me back home with open arms and offered to help me figure out my finances slash get back into real estate they've been dying for me to leave them and are ready to go to war for me my brother offered to go pick up all of my belongings and be there when i pick up my dogs my mom picked me up today and he thinks

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_00] i'm just going by my family to spend a few nights and see friends i've actually bought all my important documents and belongings with me just to get it out of the way i haven't told him what's going on yet because he's very good at convincing me to stay so i'm working on how to open the conversation but i'll figure it out i'm at a point where i can't turn back because my family won't let me do that to myself breaking up with someone who clearly has narcissistic tendencies is very difficult and feels near

[00:28:01] [SPEAKER_00] impossible but i know i'll be able to do it in the end i'm anxious and scared and i know once i pull the trigger and just tell him i'm done i'll feel so much better just thinking about my life after this whole situation scares me but also excites me i want to be free and loved properly not just when it benefits my partner hopefully i'll be able to post an update soon where i fully cut ties fingers crossed i keep this backbone that i'm slowly developing someone said to op you can do this

[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_00] you sound like your support system is ready and able and if you feel like you would need physical protection moving out try asking any large male family members or friends you have to come with you to get everything else i've done it before the name of the game is silence if he's still there while you need to get everything you'll probably try multiple methods of talking to you and your loved ones to get you to stay but try not to react at all verbally or physically if he gets aggressive make sure you have pepper spray or a taser on you and your loved ones you've got this and you have a

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_00] much better start to the year by getting rid of him i wish you all the luck op op says i'm gonna bring my brothers honestly i'm not too worried because my brother is 6'1 and my soon-to-be ex is only 5'5 but seriously i'm so blessed to have the family i do they are dysfunctional but are ready to do anything to protect me and watch me succeed another commenter says so brave amazed how fast you're moving both physically and mentally you've totally got this and with some help from your support network

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_00] you'll be more than fine look forward to another update once you're fully free of this albatross op says something in me broke the other day and i broke down in front of my family i know doing that would be the end of things and light the fire under my ass that i needed i've been avoiding it for months hoping it'd get better and it only got worse i realized i couldn't keep living like this someone asked did op get the cabinet she wanted and op said sadly no the girl

[00:29:54] [SPEAKER_00] sold it before i could get it myself gee bloody whiz i'm so glad that op is choosing herself at the end of this the financial control and you know op looking after his kid at the same time while he makes eight times your salary and you're sending all your money to him he can't even bother to get you something and i'm super glad that you got a supportive family behind you and it sounds like you're in the middle of the hardest part right now which is actually leaving instead of just you know

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER_00] thinking about it keep doing you op you've absolutely got this 2026 your year but what do you guys make of this situation let us know your thoughts down in the comments below now 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'll see you in the next one take care and much love