'AITA for not getting excited when I opened my mother's birthday gift to me?'
"AITA for not acting excited enough when opening my birthday gifts?"
Disastrous-Pace5638 writes:
Today was my (16F) birthday, and I get stressed out opening gifts in front of my family because I can’t seem to show the level of excitement they expect. It’s a huge problem every year. They want me to jump up and down and cry, but my reactions are never extreme enough for them.
My mom especially likes to film birthday videos to post on Facebook, and she gets upset when everyone doesn’t sing Happy Birthday perfectly in sync, which leads to loud arguments with my dad.
That happened again this year. My dad got angry that she kept making everyone re-sing it over and over, which caused the candles to melt all over the cake. Then he stormed off before I opened my presents.
I opened the gift from my mom, which was a waxing kit for legs, but I don’t even shave my legs. I said, “Oh, this is such an interesting gift! How did you come up with this?” She was filming my reaction to post online, but when I didn’t seem excited enough, she got mad and said, “What, you don’t like it? I’ll just take it back then.”
I said, “No, I’m just wondering what made you decide to get this.” She then turned off the camera and started crying dramatically, saying to herself, “How did I raise a daughter like this?” This kind of thing always happens. I asked why she has to cry and ruin it every year. She said, “I guess I’m just the worst mom ever then,” and walked away.
Here's what other people had to say to OP:
TrifleGlittering7870 says:
NTA. You and your Dad have to sit Mom down and tell her FB is no longer invited to family occasions. I don't think your reaction to the gifts is the issue here though. I suspect you are being scapegoated by someone with a social media/external validation problem.
Connect-Thought2029 says:
To be honest it’s a terrible gift, especially if you don’t wax your legs. NTA.
CamilleYun says:
I'd enforce a no filming rule from here on out. What a horrible ordeal!
geekylace says:
Wow, both of your parents sound incredibly emotionally immature. NTA.