When many of us think of Father's Day, we think of cherished moments spent with our family, namely fathers or grandfathers or any other sort of fatherly figure in our lives. They deserve to be appreciated for all the hard work they do!
Unfortunately, one stepfather had his day ruined by a mean joke played by his stepson and became worried afterwards that he may have overreacted.
Though Father's Day is a day meant to be cherished by those who celebrate it, full of love and appreciation, it doesn't go so smoothly for everyone.
One stepfather had a rather troubling experience on Father's Day this year, and decided to ask Reddit to see if he was right in his reaction.
He says his stepdaughter is the "apple of [his] eye", that they have a great relationship and he loves her very much. However, his stepson has a difficult personality, refusing to partake in family activities and not allowing his stepfather to help him with anything.
In a recent turn of events, he would start to spend time with his stepfather, but only as means to pull a nasty 'prank'. These pranks have included minor things like replacing his shampoo, escalating all the way to ruining the man's credit cards and car tires.
He says these pranks have made him rather paranoid, afraid to leave the house lest something be wrong with his cards or his car. His wife has done nothing to curb the behavior, seemingly uninvolved in this.
They were visiting his wife's parents' house to celebrate. His stepdaughter got him a beautiful gift and, much to his surprise, his stepson also handed him a wrapped present. "I was so excited and happy because all I was thinking of was not the gift itself but the fact my stepson is finally letting me be part of his life and remembering me on father's day so it meant the world to me. That was already my gift but I couldn't wait to open it and show him my appreciation and gratitude," he wrote.
"Well, I opened the box and saw...a stinky, old sock of mine that I've lost a couple of months ago placed inside."
The whole family laughed at the reveal, while the author of this post was left feeling dejected.
"It was an absolute horrible moment [...]. I just got up and walked out [...] what he did felt so humiliating I almost cried. [My wife] said that I shouldn't have walked out like that and made it awkward since I'm the adult and should've handled this better."
What followed was tons of support for him and sympathy regarding his situation, as well as many shocked reactions regarding the family.
Many pointed out just how malicious his pranks were, like one user who wrote, "[Your stepson] is a jerk, messing with credit card and your car aren't pranks, it malicious vandalism [...]. If he did that stuff to anyone outside the family he'd get reamed out if not charged with a crime for the stuff with the car."
Others offered ways he could get back, and while the author admitted he was tempted, he also said he knew that'd just make things worse.
"Your step son is a straight up bully and your wife needs to stop enabling his behavior. How she can accept someone treating a person she claims to love like that is just beyond me," wrote one impassioned commenter. "This isn't just the sock. His other 'pranks' were mean spirited and abusive too."
"Your stepson never has to love you, but your wife should make him respect you. You need to have a serious conversation with HER," added another.
Stepparent relationships can be difficult, but bo one deserves this kind of treatment, especially a man who's done nothing but try to bond with his son.
Thankfully, the comments encouraged him to have a real talk and sort this out with his family, advice he hopefully took.
