Recovering Alcoholic Asks If He’s Wrong For Dumping Stepson’s Father’s Day Gift After He Give Him A Hip Flask
He feels guilty for tossing it.
Freeograph / Shutterstock A man is wondering if he was in the wrong for throwing out his stepson’s Father’s Day “gift” in front of him.
The 38-year-old man posted the story of his conflict with his 16-year-old stepson on the infamous subreddit "r/AmItheA–-hole" (AITA).
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The forum allows people to share their moral debates with an audience of millions, and then readers can assign a rating based on who was more justified, the two most common ratings are “You’re the A–-hole” (YTA) and “Not the A-–hole” (NTA).
The man is three years sober after struggling with alcoholism.
He writes that his struggle with alcohol abuse was “the most difficult period of my life,” but he is doing much better since going clean.
Marrying his wife last year played a big role in his life, changing it for the better.
His relationship with his stepson, however, who he calls Jake, is a tenuous one.
“Jake and I aren't really close but we have a cordial relationship," the man wrote, "his dad's in the picture so it's pretty clear that he never sees me as a dad."
He goes on to explain how he and Jake have butted heads in the past.
Most of the prior conflicts involve Jake damaging some of his stepdad's things and making him pay for them, but it occasionally goes a bit too far.
“He also constantly mocks my sobriety every chance he gets,” he wrote. “Some issues got worked out with time but the ‘mocking’ is pretty much still there. I told him, told my wife how this makes me feel but got nowhere.”
Father’s Day rolled around and his wife’s family came over to celebrate the occasion with them.
Jake brought a gift for his stepdad, which came as a surprise because he usually doesn’t bother.
The man thought that Jake may finally be coming around to him until he opened it.
The “gift” for his sober stepfather was a flask and a glass.
“I felt like he just made fun of, or mocked one of the biggest, most difficult struggles in my entire life,” the man said. “I froze...I didn't know what to say or how to act since everyone was literally watching me. Jake was giggling hard and that's when I got p---ed.”
Feeling hurt and angry, the man abruptly stood up from the table and took the “gift” outside to throw it in the garbage can.
As he got up, he told Jake that the flask “doesn’t belong in my house.”
Despite the circumstances, his wife and her family disapproved of his actions.
His wife said that Jake was “just teasing” him, and that he should "loosen up."
He added that there is tension between everyone in the house and his in-laws have given him the silent treatment since it happened.
Readers defended the man and voted that he was NTA.
Many slammed Jake’s actions and suggested the man really think about their relationship going forward.
“Your stepson knew what he was doing and you weren't being dramatic,” one commenter said. “Giving a recovering alcoholic an alcohol gift is not only a horrible thing to do but it can reintroduce the temptation. I think you reacted just fine but your stepson is an AH.”
“Your wife allows her brat kid to mock your sobriety. This is not the normal family quarrel, this is serious s–t,” another commenter said. “If your wife is so self-absorbed, you should really reconsider this marriage. What is she bringing to the table apart from an awful kid that she does not parent apparently?”
Jonathan Alfano is a writer who focuses on news and entertainment topics. Follow him on Twitter to keep up with his content.