Blended families can be tricky at the best of times, but when they come as a result of the death of a child’s other parent, they need extra careful navigation.

After all, losing a parent at a young age is a traumatic experience, and without careful support, the child can end up resenting the new family situation that they find themselves in.

All this is pertinent to the boy in this story, whose father is about to get married.

But while the fact that his dad is marrying his mom’s best friend should leave him with unbridled joy, he just can’t seem to conjure any up.

Read on to find out how he’s dealing with his grief and the effect it’s having in the run-up to the wedding.

AITA for not being happy that my dad is marrying my best friend’s mom?

I am a fifteen-year-old boy, and my dad is marrying my best friend’s mom later this month.

They’re both widowers and have been together for four years now.

My best friend is happy and excited about it because they’ll move in with us, and we will live together all the time.

Honestly I’m excited about that too because I love him, but at the same time I’m not happy about their marriage.

Let’s see what is making him less-than-happy about the wedding.

My mom passed away from cancer when I was eight.

I remember seeing her struggle and in pain most of the time. She always hugged me and said whatever happened she’ll always be looking down at me and that she’ll forever love me.

She also told dad that she wants him to move on and find someone after she passes, and he did.

My best friend’s dad passed away when my friend was three, and my dad and his mom eventually connected through us.

And even though he likes his future stepmom, he’s really struggling with it all.

She’s always been so loving towards me and she’s a great mom to both of us even though she’s not technically my stepmom yet.

I have nothing against her personally, but I just never liked how fast dad moved on from mom. And I guess I’ve just stored that inside me and I’ve been resenting her a little inside.

Nobody knows about this I haven’t told anybody not even dad, but I just can’t not resent her a little for it and it feels so bad and wrong because she’s been nothing but wonderful for me ever since I knew her long before she got with dad.

AITA?

This boy is clearly still struggling with his grief – and after losing his mom at such a young age, that is totally normal.

It’s great that he has the maturity to see that his future stepmom is a good woman, and that his resentment toward her is because of the loss of his mom. Many kids his age (and much older) are much less self-aware.

But it’s crucial that he talks about his feelings with someone, an external person if he can’t have the conversation with his dad. It’s important for his mental health and his relationship with his new family too.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit had to say about this.

This person explained that his feelings are totally normal.

While others encouraged him to find someone to talk to.

Meanwhile, this Redditor explained with empathy that his dad was doing nothing wrong.

His feelings are acceptable and totally normal.

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.