Extended family can be awkward at times, especially when they feel like strangers.
And when they want something from you.
This woman took to Reddit to share her story.
My mom married my dad when I was three.
My biological father paid child support and we spent time together but we never really bonded. His parents and I did though. They are my paternal grandparents.
My step father’s mom and dad and I never really warmed up to each other.
They would send me $50 fo my birthday and another $50 for Christmas. My younger siblings got toys and handmade gifts.
It never really bugged me. I had two sets of grandparents.
The woman’s step grandma is struggling financially.
After my dad’s father died his mom sold their house and started traveling. COVID screwed that up for a while and she burned through a lot of their savings.
She is now almost out of money.
She still has her husband’s pension as well as her own. But she can’t afford a house like she had.
All her kids and grandkids are trying to pool their money and get her a down payment on a home. Just an apartment she can use as a base of operations between vacations.
If she is smart she can pay her bills and still take one or two short international vacations a year.
My dad asked me to contribute. I sent $1,500. Basically all the money she gave me between when my mom married my dad and my 18th birthday when she stopped.
I could afford more. My husband and I are DINKS (Double Income No Kids) for now and we paid off our home in five years because we made it a priority.
Her parents are disappointed in her lack of concern for her step grandma.
My mom asked me why I didn’t give more and I told her that my dad’s mom wasn’t really my problem.
They are disappointed in me and said that I shouldn’t be holding a grudge against an old lady.
I said I didn’t hold a grudge, if I had I would have sent a container of leftover Chinese food flavored with spit. Now they are saying I’m being childish.
AITA?
Reddit users took the writer’s side for this story.
One reader said the woman has no obligation to pay more than she did.
Another person called the woman’s reaction completely fair for the years of unequal treatment.
And this person called the grandma downright irresponsible.
Maybe $1500 is too generous.
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