Spitting on the Olive Branch
When I was in High School, my mom took an early retirement and then mysteriously ‘couldn’t find work’ after I got my first job. I had no social life, I worked to pay our utility bills and sometimes was called on to pay the full rent, on a 3-bedroom house.
I had misgivings, but every time I tried to say no she was like, “Oh but your younger sibling. Think of this poor kid who needs you.” Mom even tried to get me to open a checking account, you could only do that as a minor with an adult on your account. I was at least smart enough to refuse that.
When I went to college, which even getting there was a challenge, something happened with their housing. They ‘borrowed’ a deposit from me. Over $1k. Again, “But you don’t want younger sib to end up on the street, do you!?”
I get back home that summer and they’ve rented a huge house, with extra bedrooms, near a body of water. Still, I felt like I was helping them and my sibling was still a minor. I felt like I was being a “good person” and I “had to” help my family.
Mysteriously, once younger sib was out of the house and Mom couldn’t use that on me? She found two jobs. One in retail, one with USPS. It was nothing exotic: she just hadn’t been trying to find work. It was too much fun to rob me. Now she makes too much money to collect social security.
But she couldn’t resist trying to ruin my life, I guess. She never, ever tried to pay any of that back, by the way. We have a strained relationship to say the least. One year, my friend’s mom advised me to go home for the holidays and try to patch things up.
I’m suspicious, but I set it up: I’ll stay there for Dec 31, leaving Jan 1. I get to the house, I’m like putting my bag down. Mom comes up to me. “You know, you’d pay $100 to stay in a hotel.
You should really be paying us to be here.” Like this was my olive branch to her and she spat on it. Story credit: Reddit / Disastrous_Spite_349