It’s hard to understand someone when their values are so different from your own.

But does that mean your life should revolve around pleasing them?

Read how one Redditor struggles with this as his mother feels dismissed after buying him a gift.

See the story below for more.

AITA for ignoring my mom’s gift and “ruining her day”?

My mom (60f) recently called to let me (32m) know she bought me leave-in conditioner for my hair and had it shipped through Amazon.

I thanked her and told her I appreciated it.

Why she did this I have no idea.

I wasn’t expecting anything, but I expressed gratitude anyway.

But the day continued on.

Later that day, my wife, our son, and I went out to relax in our pool and enjoy the weather.

While we were outside, my mom texted me to say the package had been delivered.

I didn’t respond right away, since I was still in the pool.

Not long after, she called and asked if I had gotten it.

I told her I hadn’t yet, because we were still outside.

She told me I needed to go get it so it wouldn’t be stolen.

This had never been an issue prior.

For context, I live in a house in a safe neighborhood, and we’ve never had issues with stolen packages.

I also didn’t want to get out of the pool, dry off, grab the package, and then go right back in.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to wait.

She was clearly irritated, but I didn’t think much of it.

Once we were done swimming, I brought the package inside and texted her to say it was safe.

However, there were other priorities the father had.

After that, I gave my son a bath, put him down for a nap, and ended up taking a nap with him.

Later, I played some video games to unwind.

At some point, I saw that my mom had called me three times in the span of ten minutes.

I figured it might be serious, so I called her back.

The reason wasn’t as urgent as you’d think.

She just wanted to know if I had opened the package yet.

I told her no, I hadn’t had a chance.

She got upset and said she’d been waiting all day to see my reaction.

I told her I appreciated the gift, but she was being a little overbearing about it.

This didn’t sit well with the mother.

She got defensive and told me not to disregard her.

Then, she said I was being rude for not opening the package sooner.

I told her I don’t plan my day around deliveries and that she was acting kind of obsessive.

She actually said, “If we were in front of a jury, they’d side with me.”

At that point, I said “Ok, love you, bye” and hung up because I didn’t want to keep arguing.

Oh, but she had waaaay more to say.

Then, she sent me a long text saying I had treated her terribly and claiming my dad somehow influenced me to act this way.

(For context, my parents are divorced and have a history.)

So, AITA for not opening the package right away and for telling her she was being over-the-top about it?

Is the poster in the wrong here?

Should he have been gentler with his mother?

Let’s read the comments below to find out more.

Some Redditors called it like they saw it.

Others were desperate to know the product.

People also said “trust your gut.”

And one Redditor wondered if it wasn’t leave-in conditioner at all.

This mother sounds lonely, but she needs to understand that her son is trying his best.

We all are.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.