Out With The Old
My sister and I have always had a strained relationship. I usually just let things go and try to keep the peace. We both have sons who are around the same age. My nephew is 13 and my son just turned 11. For my son’s birthday, I bought him the new gaming system he has been wanting. He was absolutely thrilled and he plays nonstop.
My sister is bad with money. I usually have to lend her money for bills and stuff for my nephew. I know my nephew doesn’t always get the best Christmas gifts, so this year I went a little crazy and I purchased the same gaming system for him for Christmas. I already had it ready and wrapped under my tree. Yesterday, my sister’s family came to visit.
My son asked me if they could go play video games. I said yes and reminded them to be careful. About 30 minutes later, my son comes running to me crying. I asked him what was wrong and he led me to the front hall. When we get to the stairs, I gasped. I see the new system smashed on the floor. Someone had thrown it from the upstairs and it was now smashed to pieces.
I asked my son what happened and he sobbed and pointed at his cousin. I asked my nephew if he did this and he started to laugh. He said that it was a “stupid baby toy” and that he saw people break them online. My sister came in and I told her what happened. I explained that this was an expensive system and that her son needs to be disciplined for what he did.
I told her I wanted her to pay for what her son broke. She laughed and said no. She says I shouldn’t have let them play unsupervised. That it was my fault and that I am a bad parent. She said my son will get over it and that it was not important. Seeing my son sitting on the ground next to his broken system trying to put the pieces back together tore my heart out. Luckily, I had the perfect revenge.
I walked over to the Christmas tree and grabbed the system that was meant for my nephew. I pulled the gift wrap off and it gave it to my son and told him to go upstairs and set it up. My sister asked me why I was making such a big deal before when I had another system already. I then laughed and told her that was her son’s Christmas gift.
That since it wasn’t important and it was just a stupid baby toy then they obviously won’t miss it. I then told them to leave. My nephew realized what happened and began to cry that my son had taken his system. I said no, his was the one that he smashed. My sister was livid and told me that I will never see them again. I just said okay and slammed the door.
Other family members have now been calling me nonstop and saying I am a jerk and that I ruined my nephew’s Christmas. I don’t think so, though. My nephew is 13. He is not a stupid kid and he knew what he was doing. I don’t care that it was over jealousy, he is old enough to know better. My sister was not going to make the situation right so I just did what I had to do.
They all think I should buy another new system for him but I don’t have that kind of money.