As you become an adult, it’s only natural that your behavior toward your parents changes, as theirs does with you.

Gone are the days of their superior power; now you’re equals, adults who – ideally – enjoy one another’s company and treat the other with respect.

This is very much true of the woman in this story and her father, who respects her time and opinions, and treats her as such.

Unfortunately though, her stepmom really hasn’t followed suit.

Read on to find out what happened to cause drama between the two women.

AITA for “dictating” my flight details?

I am a twenty-year-old woman, and I grew up with divorced parents in two different states.

My dad got remarried to a woman (my stepmom), and growing up with her was rough. She is the kind of person who has to be ‘right’ all of the time (even when she’s clearly in the wrong) and likes to walk all over people to prove her point.

We recently had a long weekend break at my college, and I had plans to visit my dad during that time. My dad texted and asked me if the flight he found worked for me.

I’d be flying from Pittsburgh to Greensboro, with a stop in Charlotte.

Let’s see why this presented a problem.

Here’s the thing: normally I just fly directly to Charlotte as it is a quick and easy trip. Also, Charlotte is thirty minutes closer to where he lives.

I mentioned that the last two flights I was on (travels that weren’t to my dad’s) had issues with the connections, where due to weather and mechanical problems I was stuck and had to be put on a new flight.

Also, I am a resident assistant, and needed to be back on campus by a certain day and time, and don’t want being stuck somewhere that prevents me from returning when I need to.

I then politely asked if I could just be put on the direct flight to Charlotte I usually take, and he said that was fine. He booked the flight and all was good.

But what should have been a simple fix to a small issue was only the beginning.

Fast forward to the day after I arrive, and my stepmom and I are driving to the grocery store. She asked me out of the blue why I requested a different flight than the one to Greensboro.

I gave her the same reasons I gave my dad, only for her to over power me with a “But you aren’t the one paying!!”

I calmly explained to her that I understand I’m not the one paying, but my dad asked me for my input so I gave it based on my parameters.

She then raised her voice and went on that, “sometimes we have to be inconvenienced to save money, especially when it comes to flights.”

Read on to find out how the woman responded.

I calmly reminded her that she has always pushed me to “speak up more” and “be more communicative”, so that is simply what I did: speak up and let my dad know that the direct flight to Charlotte worked a lot better for me.

My stepmom then huffed and called me ungrateful for having a dad that wants to see me, so I just stayed silent and didn’t buy into her antics.

It’s like the minute I stick up for myself, I’m being punished all of a sudden. It feels like my stepmom is inadvertently training me to not speak up so the world can walk all over me, but am I really in the wrong here for giving my preferences?

AITA?

Her dad asked her if the flight he suggested worked, and they didn’t, so she was honest about it.

That is exactly what a parent-child relationship should be: him being considerate of her, and her being honest with him.

It’s a real shame that her stepmom is attempting to sabotage this for her own selfish means.

Let’s see what the Reddit community thought about this.

This person encouraged her to continue the honest dialogue with her dad.

While others encouraged her to keep being forthcoming about her preferences.

Meanwhile, this Redditor put forward a future cost-saving initiative.

Her dad never let her know that money was an issue, so she understandably didn’t consider it in making her choice.

The choice that she was asked to make.

If her stepmom has an issue about how much the flight tickets are costing, it’s a discussion for her to have with her husband, not her stepdaughter.

But her approach suggests that she likely wouldn’t have been satisfied whatever decision her stepdaughter made.

It’s like nothing’s good enough for her.

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.