There’s nothing more frustrating than having to bite your tongue when an older relative starts to spout off about politics.
Well, maybe when that relative tries to involve your newborn baby, I imagine.
OP’s grandfather-in-law enrolled their newborn son in a political organization he and his wife disagreed with.
As a bit of background.
When my wife and I had our first child, my wife’s Grandpa paid thousands to buy our son a lifetime membership in a political organization whose values do not match my wife and I.
We were frustrated but didn’t say anything because her Grandpa lived alone and was toward the end of his life.
They didn’t think much of it until the organization sent fundraising materials to the house.
When my son was a toddler, I lost my job.
This was in the middle of the recession and jobs were hard to come by, particularly for recent college grads with no experience.
The next 10 months were difficult.
I often went to bed crying at the rejection after rejection.
It was at a particularly low point that my son received a letter in the mail from this political organization that he is a part of.
It talked about how they needed “every penny (he) can spare” to help this group in their fight.
They needed “(his) best.”
My sadness turned to anger. And I wanted to call them up and lose my mind.
He gave them exactly what they asked for – and a little more, besides.
Instead, i decided to maliciously comply.
My toddler son had no money but he could scribble on a piece of paper! He scribbled in various colors on a piece of paper.
I wrote a note on the back saying that when you hit up a toddler for money, this is the best he could do and I sarcastically told them I hoped it helped in their fight.
I put it in the envelope they had enclosed, attached that envelope to a rock so that they had to pay extra postage, and sent it back.
It makes me happy to think they lost money on hitting him up.
This person wonders if they are still sending those prepaid envelopes.
Turns out a lot of people like to play this game.
This person understands why OP was so upset.
This doesn’t seem like much.
But in his state of mind, it probably seemed huge.
If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.