Most kids call their parents “mom” and “dad” or some variation of these names, but do you always still use the names “mom” and “dad” when you’re talking about them to someone else?

In today’s story, one person is grieving the loss of her mother, and as if that isn’t bad enough, now her stepdad has turned against her.

She’s not sure what to do or even how to feel.

Let’s see what’s going on.

AITA for not calling my mom by the name “mom”

AITA?

A few months ago, I lost my mom, and it’s been really hard.

I’ve been grieving while also dealing with my stepdad, who was married to her for many years.

Recently, things between my stepdad and me have gotten really strained.

Her stepdad called her disrespectful.

One day, I was talking to him, and in an emotional moment, I called my mom by her name instead of “mom” (which was an accident—sometimes I just slip up).

He immediately took offense and got really upset.

After that, he said I was being disrespectful and didn’t understand how to show respect for my mom.

I tried to explain that I didn’t mean anything disrespectful by it, and I also pointed out that my grandma and I have always referred to her as her name when talking about her, and it wasn’t meant to be disrespectful either.

That escalated quickly!

That’s when my stepdad snapped and told me, “In my house, you do.”

He kicked me out of the house immediately, saying I wasn’t welcome anymore.

He didn’t even try to listen to me after that, and he still hasn’t given me a clear reason as to why things turned out this way.

She doesn’t know why her stepdad has turned against her.

At first, I thought maybe he just needed space to grieve, but the more time passes, the more I feel like he blames me for her death.

He hasn’t explicitly said it, but his behavior toward me has completely shifted.

He avoids conversations, keeps me at a distance, and refuses to discuss why I’m no longer welcome in what was once our shared home.

I’ve asked my grandma if she could find out why, but she hasn’t been able to get a clear answer from him either.

I don’t know what I could have done to warrant this.

She doesn’t know how to feel.

I loved my mom deeply, and losing her has already been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through.

Now, I feel like I’ve also lost my stepdad—not by death, but by choice.

I don’t know if he truly blames me or if his grief is just manifesting in anger, but being shut out completely is painful.

So, AITA for thinking he blames me?

Or am I reading too much into his actions?

What a hard situation!

At least she still has her grandma to turn to for support.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

There’s more to worry about than just hurt feelings.

He shouldn’t have kicked her out.

It’s a good thing she has her grandmother.

Grieving takes a long time.

It might be better to cut ties with the stepdad.

Her stepdad definitely overreacted.

But grief does funny things to people.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.