When a couple falls out of love, divorce is often necessary in order for both partners to move forward, but when a family hangs in the balance, this process can be incredibly painful for all parties involved.
A dad recently shared his story of Christmas angst on Reddit. After finding out that he'd be spending Christmas without his kids, he had a few choice words for his ex.
Was he in the right or in the wrong?
The original post has been removed, but here's an archived version.
There really isn't much to this story. The couple is recently divorced are preparing for their first Christmas apart. The custody schedule states that OP's ex-wife will be with their four kids on Christmas Day, which means that OP will be spending a quiet holiday with his mom, who adores the kids.
After attempting a few compromises, OP got angry and yelled at his ex, then pestered her mom to try to get her to change her mind.
OP makes his proposal seem reasonable, but is it really okay to split up your kids for Christmas? While it's no doubt painful for OP and his mom, it seems like keeping the kids together for Christmas is the best of a bad situation. Besides, OP will presumably spend next Christmas with the kids.
When parents don't want to spend Christmas together (or be together at all), it simply isn't possible for both parents to spend the full holiday with their kids. Compromises have to be made, and in this case, that compromise is deciding on one place where the kids can celebrate Christmas.
He pleaded his case in follow-up comments, but no details of his story did much to convince Reddit that he was in the right. The consensus, basically, was that he needed to accept reality. Furthermore, lashing out at his wife and then calling her mom to try to get her on his side made for a bad look all around.
A lot of the AITA posts involve a jerk getting their comeuppance, but this one is just plain heartbreaking. OP could have been less of a jerk, but it's still a sad situation for the whole family. Let's hope it's a decent Christmas for all of them.
