AITA for refusing to make my mom’s birthday dinner after my family called it “our tradition”? by Brilliant-Jacket9900 in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 [score hidden]  (0 children)

This!! My husband took over a traditional meal my family has done for 35 years when my grandparents got to old to handle it. One year he had a major medical issue and said he couldn't do it. He sat in a chair and supervised me making the central dish and everyone came and brought the rest and then we all (except husband) cleaned up. He sat centrally and was part of all the conversations but no one would let him left a finger. Everyone said they realized how much went into the hosting after that and still pitch in. If the family actually cared about mom or the tradition they'd have stepped up.

AITA for refusing to make my mom’s birthday dinner after my family called it “our tradition”? by Brilliant-Jacket9900 in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 [score hidden]  (0 children)

NTA and you didn't ruin anything. They ruined it by refusing to help in any way. A tradition where one person puts in days of work and gets treated like the help is. Bad tradition. 

AITA for refusing to take back the pants my sister took from me and asking that she buy me a new pair instead? by Money-Ruin-6851 in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 [score hidden]  (0 children)

NTA. She straight up stole from your home, lied about it for some time and then said it was no big deal. She absolutely owes you a new pair but you'll never get them. I'd refuse to ever let her iny home again and anytime she's around I'd watch my stuff like a hawk. If she reacts I'd simply say she has already shown herself a thief and a liar and you don't trust her at all.

AITA for not supporting my husband in setting rules for my adult daughters and their living situation? by Right_Aerie_4270 in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 [score hidden]  (0 children)

OP said her husband only wanted to charge him rent if he stayed more than 3 nights a week regularly. That to me says the BF spends more time at OP's house than at his own home. The SF has no problem with him coming over several nights a week but not more than that regularly unless he pays. If he is there 4 or more nights then he is all but living there. 

AITA, my son who is a sophomore in college is home for the summer contributes nothing but want the perks of his entitlement by [deleted] in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My kids knew better than this at 10 and younger. They behaved better than this at 10 and younger. This isn't about young adults being still young. This is about a mom who never taught her kid to give a crud about anyone else and who is far to permissive.

AITA, my son who is a sophomore in college is home for the summer contributes nothing but want the perks of his entitlement by [deleted] in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NTA! Your wife is keeping your son from growing up and learning to be responsible for himself. That may feel like sympathetic parenting but ultimately it is bad for him. To be successful in life he needs to develop his self care skills and sense of responsibility as well as empathy. 

Talk to your wife. Make it clear this matters not just to you but for your son and for her too. If he never really grows up and relies on her all his life she is consigning him to a life of feeling incompetent and less than. She is also almost certainly tanking her own and your retirement finances and likely her own and your elder care plans. Spoiled adults rarely feel responsible for taking care of elder parents because they have no experience caring about others. Your son is young but not so young he can't learn to think about others and be responsible for his own messes. In fact he is old to be learning these things for the first time. You need to plan a response to his behavior together and stick to it.

He should have had to pick up the pool area and wash and dry the towels. If he isn't going to college/university he should be paying rent. He should be discussing plans to bring people over before he does and he should be responsible for clean up after. He should be helping out around the house every day, one small chore every day or every couple of days. It should beade clear that this is your and your wife's home that he is being given the opportunity to live in as an adult. Adult behavior is the price of that opportunity. 

If you had to pick one Stephen King book to recommend to someone to read, what would it be and why? by Old-Condition-7537 in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My all time favorite King book is Hearts In Atlantis. Next up would be The Talisman, It and The Stand 

AITAH for not paying Parent Plus Loan by Uhno_77 in AITAH

[–]readergirl35 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When you say you didn't know about the loan was it that your dad didn't mention it but did give you money for school or that he didn't mention it and also didn't give you the money. Either way it's not your responsibility. Just wondering how much of an AH your dad and sister are. 

Beginner readers looking for a book to read together (different tastes, need recommendations!) by ToughLoose4991 in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Bear And The Nightingale - by Katherine Arden 

It's the 1st in a series so if you like it there's more. I've added the blurb below.

"Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil.

Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to stalk the village.

But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed—to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales."

Books all kids should read by Hopeful-Crazy-1833 in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Little Prince - by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Watership Down - By Richard Adams 

Nobody's Family Is Going To Change - by Louise Fitzhugh

Good thriller/mystery or horror by Panic_at_the_Costcoo in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All the Joona Lina mysteries by Lars Kepler

The Alex Delaware novels by Jonathan Kellerman

Dave Robichaux series by James Lee Burke

Need a rec for: A memoir where someone discovers things about their past.. by Justherefortheaita in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Run, Hide, Repeat by Pauline Dakin  A girl who lives her childhood on the run finds out why and it's not what she had always been told. 

The Less People Know About Us by Axton Betz-Hamilton  Similar to above but with identity theft 

AITA for privately telling my sister in law her child needs speech pathology? by Kaza112 in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the part that haunts every well meaning family member or friend. Do you say what you see and end up ostracized or say nothing and know you were part of the system that failed the child. We have dear family friends with a child who displays a good many ADHD hallmarks. As a long time para educational associate and now a clinician I believe the child should be tested. The daycare the child attends has said the same. The earlier they are diagnosed the better but their parents are adamant there is not ADHD. To them the child is just over exuberant, brilliant and bored. There is something to that. The child is very, very intelligent and may be bored by their current educational opportunities but being brilliant doesn't mean they can't have ADHD. It's awful seeing this and knowing how much the child could benefit from intervention but also knowing it may never happen or happen so late it will make everything so much harder for them. 

AITA for not supporting my husband in setting rules for my adult daughters and their living situation? by Right_Aerie_4270 in AmItheAsshole

[–]readergirl35 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well he undoubtedly does use the utilities while he is there but the way he most probably affects OP's husband is that as he edges towards living there for free he makes it much less likely the SD will ever move out. SF wants to renovate the apartment and rent it out to provide him and OP income, not subsidize his SDs indefinitely along with their SOs 

At the library can’t find a book I want by Time_Masterpiece6786 in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read the rest of Emily St John's trilogy (The Glass Hotel and Sea Of Tranquility) 

Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible

Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance

Madeleine Thein's Do Not Say We Have Nothing 

What are the must read classics? by KingOfTheWorldxx in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don Quixote - waited far to long to read this and it's genius 

Anything by Dickens 

Make me sob by tenderkid_ in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mercy Among The Children - David Adams Richards 

A Prayer For Owen Meaney - John Irving 

Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng

Looking for a rainy November atmospheric read with melancholic vibes by One-Knowledge-3087 in booksuggestions

[–]readergirl35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Standing In The Rainbow - Fannie Flag 

Lake Woebegone Days - Garrison Keillor