# Karen DUMPS Me for Not Being TALL Enough! | Reddit Stories

An episode of [Reddit Stories Podcast - Mr. Redder](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1516821033), 5 Oct 2026, 33 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75375240/karen_dumps_me_for_not_being_tall_enough.mp3

In today’s episode of Reddit Stories Podcast, a wild Karen completely loses it. You won’t believe how this one ends! Sit back, relax, and enjoy this binge-worthy Reddit Stories Podcast, featuring Karen freakouts, entitled people stories, and pro revenge tales. 🎧 Listen to More Reddit Stories Podcast Episodes Here:👉 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ZVzMm0Pr3bwlM26VuVv8J👉 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mr-redder/id1516821033 📌 **Every episode dives into trending Reddit stories, insane Karen freakouts, and dramatic pro revenge stories! We cover the wildest situations from r/EntitledPeople, r/AITA, and r/EntitledParents. If you love binge-worthy podcast compilations, long-form storytelling, and Reddit drama stories, you’re in the right place! 👉 📺 Love These Stories? Watch Full Video Episodes on YouTube! → https://www.youtube.com/@MrRedderYT 🎵 Music Credit: https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories-podcast-mr-redder--5571651/support. Love the drama? You aren't alone. We’re over here every single day breaking down the wildest entitled moments and the best karma on the internet. Hit subscribe so you don't miss the next one, and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever had to deal with a Karen like this in your own life.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Welcome to r slash am I the jerk, where Karen
[0:02] Speaker 1: wants to leave her boyfriend because he's not tall enough.
[0:05] Speaker 1: I overheard my girlfriend say she would leave me for
[0:08] Speaker 1: someone taller. My girlfriend and I have been dating for
[0:11] Speaker 1: almost three years now. Last night, she had some friends
[0:14] Speaker 1: over after she finished work. I work from home, so
[0:17] Speaker 1: I only left my office to be formal and to
[0:18] Speaker 1: say hello. Then I continued working. It was easy to
[0:22] Speaker 1: hear the conversations they were having even though my office
[0:24] Speaker 1: is down the hall. I then heard my girlfriend mention
[0:27] Speaker 1: that she would leave me for a taller man. Her
[0:30] Speaker 1: friends made a comment on how I was a lot
[0:32] Speaker 1: shorter than her ex-boyfriend. My girlfriend responded, If only he
[0:36] Speaker 1: was as tall as my ex, he'd be 10 times better.
[0:39] Speaker 1: If I could find someone taller than him, I would.
[0:42] Speaker 1: I guess I should mention, my girlfriend is barely 4
[0:44] Speaker 1: foot 11 in shoes. I'm 5 foot 9. The issue
[0:48] Speaker 1: isn't the height, but the fact that she would leave
[0:50] Speaker 1: me for something so trivial. I talked to her about
[0:53] Speaker 1: it since, and she said she didn't mean anything by it,
[0:56] Speaker 1: just that she always dated taller men. She has since
[0:59] Speaker 1: apologized multiple times. Is this a red flag of any
[1:02] Speaker 1: kind of things to come, or am I just overthinking? Update.
[1:06] Speaker 1: I left early in the morning to make sure I
[1:08] Speaker 1: wasn't making irrational choices. When I came back, she was
[1:11] Speaker 1: immediately apologetic, but I didn't want any more apologies. I
[1:15] Speaker 1: talked to her about how little respect she had for
[1:17] Speaker 1: me that she felt the need to make jokes at
[1:19] Speaker 1: my expense. She started crying and begging me not to
[1:21] Speaker 1: break up. feeding me the standard BS people say when
[1:25] Speaker 1: they don't want to break up. To not bore you
[1:27] Speaker 1: with the details, I broke it off. I lose nothing
[1:30] Speaker 1: at this point. I should clarify something from my initial
[1:32] Speaker 1: post though. I get that people can joke around and
[1:35] Speaker 1: that it doesn't mean anything, but when I confronted her
[1:37] Speaker 1: about it, she denied it and got very defensive. That's
[1:40] Speaker 1: the part that got to me. The fact that she
[1:42] Speaker 1: tried to cover it up before apologizing. Edit. So I
[1:46] Speaker 1: read all the comments on my post and even after
[1:48] Speaker 1: breaking up with my girlfriend, I was doubting if I
[1:50] Speaker 1: made the right choice. I wasn't going to update because
[1:53] Speaker 1: I didn't see a reason to, but after the last
[1:55] Speaker 1: couple of days, I came to a final conclusion. I
[1:58] Speaker 1: want to clarify that I broke up with my girlfriend
[2:00] Speaker 1: because of how easy it was for her to disrespect
[2:03] Speaker 1: me behind my back, not because of the actual height difference.
[2:06] Speaker 1: After I broke up with her, she continued to apologize
[2:08] Speaker 1: to me. She would send me letters and call me,
[2:11] Speaker 1: and one of the texts I actually responded to, she
[2:14] Speaker 1: asked if we could meet up and talk. Without going
[2:16] Speaker 1: into too much detail, she wanted a second chance and
[2:19] Speaker 1: overall sounded very remorseful. I was about to agree, but
[2:22] Speaker 1: something she said made me realize I would be making
[2:24] Speaker 1: a mistake if I did. She said, I'll remember to
[2:27] Speaker 1: respect you from now on. That sentence made me realize
[2:31] Speaker 1: that I made the right choice by breaking up. Since
[2:33] Speaker 1: when do you have to be reminded to have the
[2:35] Speaker 1: bare minimum of respect for your partner? I'm 5'6 and
[2:39] Speaker 1: I dated a girl a few inches shorter than me.
[2:41] Speaker 1: She said, if you were 4 inches taller, everything would
[2:44] Speaker 1: be perfect, as she was giving me a hug. That
[2:47] Speaker 1: relationship ended soon after that. Pretty sure she did marry
[2:50] Speaker 1: someone at least that much taller than me. I ended
[2:53] Speaker 1: up marrying someone an inch taller than me. I, 28 male,
[2:58] Speaker 1: ran into my ex-wife's sister, who's 24, at the store.
[3:01] Speaker 1: And after catching up, she asked me on a date.
[3:04] Speaker 1: My ex-wife is the same age as me and I
[3:06] Speaker 1: haven't seen her since we divorced three years ago. There
[3:09] Speaker 1: was nothing dramatic about the divorce. We just got married
[3:11] Speaker 1: too young, too soon, and realized it too late. We
[3:15] Speaker 1: divorced pretty amicably and she ended up moving away. I
[3:18] Speaker 1: did as well for a time but I ended up
[3:20] Speaker 1: coming back home last year. I had no idea what
[3:22] Speaker 1: my ex was doing and I didn't really care. I
[3:25] Speaker 1: got along with her family until the end, although I
[3:27] Speaker 1: did not know her sister that well since either we
[3:29] Speaker 1: were in college or she was in college, away from us,
[3:32] Speaker 1: but I had met her several times and I had
[3:34] Speaker 1: a cordial relationship with her. I never felt any weird
[3:37] Speaker 1: vibes while married to her sister. My ex was not
[3:40] Speaker 1: really close with her sister but they also did not
[3:42] Speaker 1: have any ill will towards each other. Anyway, she told
[3:45] Speaker 1: me that my ex is engaged and happy. which I
[3:47] Speaker 1: was actually happy to hear. She said her parents are
[3:50] Speaker 1: doing well and they even asked her a little while
[3:52] Speaker 1: ago if she knew what I was doing, which she
[3:54] Speaker 1: didn't because I don't keep in contact with anyone from
[3:56] Speaker 1: her family. My ex and I do have some mutual friends,
[3:59] Speaker 1: but I don't think Riley really knows them that well.
[4:02] Speaker 1: It was a nice conversation. Before we finished talking, Riley
[4:05] Speaker 1: asked me if I would like to have a drink
[4:07] Speaker 1: with her sometime. I thought maybe she just wanted to
[4:09] Speaker 1: catch up in a better setting, more so than two
[4:12] Speaker 1: people can do while shopping. But then she said... but
[4:15] Speaker 1: I understand if you don't want to go on a
[4:16] Speaker 1: date with your ex-wife's sister. So, it's a date. I
[4:20] Speaker 1: did end up exchanging numbers with her, asking her kind
[4:22] Speaker 1: of lightly how her parents would feel, and I got
[4:25] Speaker 1: a response that they would probably be happy that I
[4:27] Speaker 1: found someone they liked. I figured I would rather have
[4:30] Speaker 1: the number and not use it than wonder if I
[4:32] Speaker 1: should have gotten it. I don't know. I guess I
[4:35] Speaker 1: was also just happy that an attractive woman asked me
[4:37] Speaker 1: for my number. She did mention in our conversation before
[4:40] Speaker 1: she asked me out that she was always surprised that
[4:42] Speaker 1: her sister let such a good guy go, which I
[4:45] Speaker 1: corrected her and told her that it was definitely mutual,
[4:47] Speaker 1: not all on my ex. Riley is very pretty. I
[4:51] Speaker 1: enjoyed talking to her and I like her family. They
[4:53] Speaker 1: also always liked me. If I had just run into
[4:56] Speaker 1: her as a stranger and there were no history, if
[4:58] Speaker 1: I'm being honest, it would have made my day to
[5:00] Speaker 1: have been asked that. But I keep thinking that it's weird.
[5:03] Speaker 1: She's obviously a grown woman now, but she was a
[5:06] Speaker 1: teenager when I started dating my ex-wife. I would feel
[5:09] Speaker 1: weird going to her parents, almost being like, hey, I
[5:12] Speaker 1: decided to date your other daughter. Then how would my
[5:15] Speaker 1: ex feel about it? Would it ruin her relationship with
[5:17] Speaker 1: her sister? And if we got serious, I'd have to
[5:19] Speaker 1: see my ex-wife at functions, which I don't care that
[5:22] Speaker 1: much about, but it's still weird, you know? Then I
[5:25] Speaker 1: got these intrusive thoughts like, is this my subconscious trying
[5:28] Speaker 1: to make my failed marriage seem like a success? Then
[5:31] Speaker 1: there's like, what if Riley had the same tendencies that
[5:34] Speaker 1: made you and your ex incompatible? But I feel like
[5:36] Speaker 1: I'm also not being fair to Riley. Riley has a
[5:39] Speaker 1: great family. She seems to have her stuff together and
[5:41] Speaker 1: she was enjoyable to talk to. I feel like I
[5:44] Speaker 1: could be allowing my past to throw away a potentially
[5:46] Speaker 1: great partner. I don't know. I'm just confused. Help me. Update.
[5:52] Speaker 1: I texted Riley and I told her that I don't
[5:54] Speaker 1: think it's appropriate for us to go on a date.
[5:56] Speaker 1: I told her that I enjoyed talking to her and
[5:58] Speaker 1: catching up but that we should only be cordial if
[6:00] Speaker 1: we see each other but nothing more. Maybe I shouldn't
[6:03] Speaker 1: have said this but I also told her that it's
[6:05] Speaker 1: nothing personal against her that she seems like a great person.
[6:08] Speaker 1: But given my history with her sister, it just isn't appropriate.
[6:11] Speaker 1: She replied that she understood and respected my decision, but
[6:14] Speaker 1: also said that she didn't think that my ex-wife would
[6:16] Speaker 1: have a problem with it. But I was steadfast and
[6:19] Speaker 1: said I still don't think it's appropriate. I also learned
[6:22] Speaker 1: a lot about myself here. I realized I miss being
[6:25] Speaker 1: a husband. I miss being in a loving marriage. I
[6:28] Speaker 1: don't miss my ex-wife, but I miss what we once
[6:30] Speaker 1: had and I want that again with somebody else. I
[6:33] Speaker 1: didn't know I felt that way, at least consciously, until
[6:36] Speaker 1: I spoke to Riley. I think her being my ex-wife's
[6:39] Speaker 1: sister brought out some feelings in me that were never
[6:41] Speaker 1: unlocked by the women I went on dates with in
[6:43] Speaker 1: the interim because they were detached enough from my previous
[6:46] Speaker 1: marriage that I could still repress those feelings. I didn't
[6:49] Speaker 1: realize how lonely I was and how much I craved
[6:51] Speaker 1: having a woman that I could come home to and
[6:54] Speaker 1: not just receive love but give it. I think I
[6:56] Speaker 1: focused so much on my career and my other things
[6:58] Speaker 1: in my life that I buried those feelings after my divorce. Finally,
[7:02] Speaker 1: call me dumb, naive, or oblivious. But I'm not a
[7:05] Speaker 1: bad person, and I never intended to destroy anyone's relationships.
[7:09] Speaker 1: I also was not thinking about hooking up. I was
[7:12] Speaker 1: thinking with a heart that confused scar tissue with being healed.
[7:16] Speaker 1: As for Riley, I don't know what her intentions were,
[7:18] Speaker 1: and at this point, I don't care. I'm not going
[7:21] Speaker 1: on that date with her. I'm going to talk to
[7:22] Speaker 1: a professional about my unresolved love issues, and I want
[7:25] Speaker 1: to thank everyone here for opening up my eyes, even
[7:28] Speaker 1: if you were a jerk. My girlfriend cheated on me
[7:32] Speaker 1: with her ex at our engagement party. So I've been
[7:35] Speaker 1: dating this girl, let's call her Jenim, for about three years.
[7:38] Speaker 1: Things were going great, or at least I thought they were.
[7:41] Speaker 1: We've had our issues like any couple, but I was
[7:43] Speaker 1: head over heels for her. A couple of weeks ago,
[7:46] Speaker 1: I decided to take the plunge and propose. I went
[7:49] Speaker 1: all out, fancy dinner, roses, the whole nine yards. She
[7:52] Speaker 1: said yes, and I was on cloud nine. Now here's
[7:55] Speaker 1: where things start going off the rails. We decided to
[7:58] Speaker 1: throw an engagement party to celebrate with our friends and family.
[8:01] Speaker 1: We rented out this nice little venue, invited everyone we knew,
[8:04] Speaker 1: and got ready to party. The night starts off great.
[8:07] Speaker 1: Good food, drinks, flowing. Everyone's having a blast. I'm mingling,
[8:12] Speaker 1: talking to friends I haven't seen in a while, when
[8:14] Speaker 1: I notice Jenna's been missing for a little too long.
[8:17] Speaker 1: At first I'm like, whatever, she's probably talking with someone.
[8:20] Speaker 1: But then I start to get this weird feeling in
[8:22] Speaker 1: my gut. So I start looking around for her. I
[8:25] Speaker 1: check the bathroom, the bar, even the dance floor. Nothing.
[8:29] Speaker 1: I'm getting a little worried now, so I decide to
[8:31] Speaker 1: step outside to see if she's out there. As soon
[8:33] Speaker 1: as I walk out the door, I hear these muffled
[8:35] Speaker 1: voices coming from behind one of the bushes by the
[8:38] Speaker 1: side of the building. I quietly sneak over, and as
[8:41] Speaker 1: I get closer, I hear Jenna's voice, followed by a
[8:43] Speaker 1: guy's voice. My heart's racing at this point. I peek
[8:47] Speaker 1: around the bush, and there she is. Jenna, making out
[8:50] Speaker 1: with some dude I don't recognize. I'm frozen in place
[8:53] Speaker 1: trying to process what's going on here. Then I hear
[8:56] Speaker 1: her say, I've missed you so much. I can't believe
[8:59] Speaker 1: we're doing this at my engagement party. I kid you not,
[9:02] Speaker 1: my brain short circuits. Engagement party? Who the heck is
[9:06] Speaker 1: this guy? I stand there just watching in shock. Here's
[9:09] Speaker 1: where it gets even crazier. I step out from behind
[9:12] Speaker 1: the bush and I'm like, what the heck Jenna? She
[9:15] Speaker 1: jumps a mile and spins around looking like she's seen
[9:18] Speaker 1: a ghost. And then the guy turns around and it's
[9:21] Speaker 1: her ex-boyfriend. The same ex she told me she hadn't
[9:24] Speaker 1: spoken to in years. The same ex she said was
[9:27] Speaker 1: totally out of her life. I'm standing there watching my
[9:30] Speaker 1: fiance make out with her ex-boyfriend at our engagement party.
[9:34] Speaker 1: I feel like I'm in a bad soap opera. This
[9:36] Speaker 1: dude has the audacity to look at me and go, Bro,
[9:39] Speaker 1: I'm sorry man, this wasn't supposed to happen. Wasn't supposed
[9:43] Speaker 1: to happen? Jenna starts crying, trying to apologize, saying it
[9:47] Speaker 1: was just a moment of weakness and that it didn't
[9:50] Speaker 1: mean anything. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out if this
[9:53] Speaker 1: is real life or some messed up dream. I just
[9:55] Speaker 1: turned around and walked back inside, leaving them there. I
[9:59] Speaker 1: grabbed a drink and tried to act normal, but inside
[10:01] Speaker 1: I was losing it. I didn't want to cause a
[10:04] Speaker 1: scene at the party, so I didn't say anything to anyone,
[10:07] Speaker 1: but I was just wanting to scream. The rest of
[10:09] Speaker 1: the night was a blur. I kept replaying the whole
[10:11] Speaker 1: thing in my head, trying to make sense of it.
[10:14] Speaker 1: The next morning, she came home, all apologetic, begging me
[10:17] Speaker 1: to forgive her. She tried to convince me that she
[10:20] Speaker 1: was just overwhelmed by the engagement and that seeing her
[10:22] Speaker 1: ex brought back old feelings. I couldn't even look at her.
[10:26] Speaker 1: So yeah, that's my life right now. I haven't made
[10:29] Speaker 1: any decisions yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going
[10:31] Speaker 1: through with this wedding. I still can't wrap my head
[10:34] Speaker 1: around how this even happened. How do you cheat on
[10:36] Speaker 1: someone at your own engagement party? I feel like I'm
[10:39] Speaker 1: living in some kind of twisted reality show. You definitely
[10:43] Speaker 1: need to leave her. There is never an excuse for cheating.
[10:46] Speaker 1: There's so many other ways to deal with being overwhelmed. Plus,
[10:49] Speaker 1: if she had this moment of weakness at something major
[10:52] Speaker 1: like your engagement party, then what about your wedding or
[10:55] Speaker 1: any hardships that you face? I'm sorry, man. You did
[10:58] Speaker 1: not deserve that. And I wish you the best. Am
[11:02] Speaker 1: I the jerk for telling my sister's kids the truth
[11:04] Speaker 1: about why I never had kids? I'm 36 female. My
[11:08] Speaker 1: younger sister, who's 34, has three kids who are 5, 7,
[11:11] Speaker 1: and 3. I'm child-free by choice, which has always been
[11:15] Speaker 1: a point of contention in my family. My sister, especially,
[11:18] Speaker 1: has been very vocal about her belief that our purpose
[11:21] Speaker 1: is to be mothers and how I'm missing out on
[11:23] Speaker 1: the best part in life. I've always just brushed it
[11:26] Speaker 1: off to keep the peace. Recently, my sister and her
[11:29] Speaker 1: kids came over to my house. While my sister was busy,
[11:32] Speaker 1: her 7-year-old asked me why I don't have kids. I
[11:35] Speaker 1: tried to give a vague, polite answer, but they kept pressing,
[11:38] Speaker 1: saying their mom told them that I would change my
[11:40] Speaker 1: mind one day because everyone does. At this point, I
[11:43] Speaker 1: decided it was time for the truth. I calmly told
[11:46] Speaker 1: them that I didn't want to have kids because I
[11:48] Speaker 1: value my freedom, career, and personal time. I explained that
[11:52] Speaker 1: while some people love being parents, others find happiness in
[11:54] Speaker 1: different ways, and that it's okay not to have kids
[11:57] Speaker 1: if that's what makes you happy. I also added that
[11:59] Speaker 1: everyone's life choices are valid as long as they're happy
[12:02] Speaker 1: and fulfilled. My sister overheard part of the conversation and
[12:06] Speaker 1: later blew up on me, accusing me of trying to
[12:08] Speaker 1: brainwash her kids and undermining her parenting. She said that
[12:11] Speaker 1: I was selfish for planting doubt in her kids' minds
[12:14] Speaker 1: about the importance of family. She even accused me of
[12:17] Speaker 1: glamorizing a lifestyle that she feels is empty and meaningless.
[12:21] Speaker 1: She stormed out with her kids and later my parents
[12:24] Speaker 1: called siding with her. They said I should have just
[12:26] Speaker 1: humored the kids or deflected the question and that I
[12:29] Speaker 1: owed my sister an apology for causing unnecessary drama. I
[12:33] Speaker 1: don't think I did anything wrong. I was honest, respectful,
[12:36] Speaker 1: and gave a balanced perspective. I'm tired of being made
[12:39] Speaker 1: to feel like my choices are lesser or need to
[12:41] Speaker 1: be hidden just to avoid conflict. I believe it's important
[12:44] Speaker 1: for kids to know that there are different paths in
[12:46] Speaker 1: life and not all of them involve having kids. Am
[12:49] Speaker 1: I the jerk for being honest with my niece and
[12:51] Speaker 1: nephews about why I chose not to have kids even
[12:53] Speaker 1: if it caused a family rift? Not the jerk. Your
[12:57] Speaker 1: sister has been undermining you to her kids for years
[13:00] Speaker 1: in a very passive-aggressive way. Because of this, this question
[13:03] Speaker 1: was bound to come up sometime. And rather than being
[13:06] Speaker 1: passive-aggressive in return, you were direct and approached the subject head-on.
[13:10] Speaker 1: And your sister couldn't take it because she's afraid that
[13:12] Speaker 1: if her kids are exposed to other points of view,
[13:14] Speaker 1: they will develop opinions of their own. Like Carl Sagan said,
[13:18] Speaker 1: if it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves
[13:20] Speaker 1: to be destroyed by the truth. Am I the jerk
[13:23] Speaker 1: for pointing out mother and brother's step problems as a
[13:27] Speaker 1: reason why I won't pursue another relationship? I, 46 male,
[13:31] Speaker 1: lost my wife 4 years ago when our sons were
[13:33] Speaker 1: 6 and 8. It was a difficult adjustment for all
[13:36] Speaker 1: of us and I'd be kidding if I said it
[13:38] Speaker 1: doesn't remain difficult. But I can also say that the
[13:41] Speaker 1: boys and I have managed to move forward as a
[13:42] Speaker 1: close-knit family. They're doing great in school. I'm fortunate enough
[13:46] Speaker 1: to be well off so I've been able to afford
[13:48] Speaker 1: therapy for all of us and plenty of help for
[13:51] Speaker 1: around the house. We have an awesome roster of babysitters
[13:54] Speaker 1: who the kids love. My late wife's sister and brother-in-law
[13:57] Speaker 1: live near us and have stepped up as additional adult
[13:59] Speaker 1: family figures in my kids' lives. I have not pursued
[14:02] Speaker 1: any relationships since my wife's passing. I want to focus
[14:05] Speaker 1: on my kids. It's not like I'm a hermit or anything.
[14:08] Speaker 1: I have plenty of friends and I do get the
[14:10] Speaker 1: opportunity to socialize thanks to babysitters and my sister and brother-in-law.
[14:14] Speaker 1: It may not be the life I envisioned a decade ago,
[14:17] Speaker 1: but I feel like I'm making things work and I'm
[14:19] Speaker 1: proud of our resilience as a family. The problem is
[14:21] Speaker 1: my mother, divorced from my dad and remarried, and my
[14:24] Speaker 1: older brother, divorced and remarried. A year or so after
[14:28] Speaker 1: my wife's passing, they started making comments about how I
[14:30] Speaker 1: needed to start dating again, with the strong hint that
[14:33] Speaker 1: my kids needed a mother figure around. I found this
[14:36] Speaker 1: annoying then, and only more annoying as time has gone on.
[14:39] Speaker 1: The comments tend to wax and wane. The irony is
[14:42] Speaker 1: that both my mother and my brother ended up with stepkids.
[14:46] Speaker 1: In my mother's case, it happened just after I left
[14:48] Speaker 1: for college. So I never lived with my stepdad or
[14:50] Speaker 1: step siblings, but my younger brother did and it was
[14:53] Speaker 1: a mess for him. He and the step siblings never
[14:55] Speaker 1: got along and he never recognized the stepdad as a
[14:58] Speaker 1: father figure. Our dad never remarried and he and my
[15:01] Speaker 1: brother have a much better relationship than he and my
[15:03] Speaker 1: mother do. My older brother's family is a prime example
[15:07] Speaker 1: of two single parents getting married and the belief that
[15:10] Speaker 1: they're going to be the Brady Bunch, but instead ending
[15:12] Speaker 1: up like the Jerry Springer show. The step siblings war
[15:15] Speaker 1: with each other and their respective step parent too. Here's
[15:19] Speaker 1: my potential jerk behavior. At a recent family dinner, no
[15:22] Speaker 1: kids were there, just mom, my two brothers, and I.
[15:25] Speaker 1: Mom and older brother started in again on the you
[15:28] Speaker 1: need to find a partner nonsense. I tried to deflect
[15:31] Speaker 1: it in a non-confrontational way. I guess my family is
[15:34] Speaker 1: like a wheelchair. We're not designed to handle steps. It
[15:38] Speaker 1: didn't work as they became defensive and said that I
[15:40] Speaker 1: was pig-headed to avoid dating for that reason. I lost
[15:44] Speaker 1: my temper and told them that they could do as
[15:46] Speaker 1: they please. But personally, I feel like the happiness of
[15:49] Speaker 1: my kids is more important than having a full bed
[15:52] Speaker 1: and someone to make me breakfast. My brother's wife is
[15:54] Speaker 1: a stay-at-home mom. I can pay a maid or a
[15:57] Speaker 1: cook if I need to. My younger brother said, Amen.
[16:01] Speaker 1: But mom and my older brother said my comments were
[16:03] Speaker 1: cruel and insulting. Did I overreact? Not the jerk. As
[16:08] Speaker 1: a former step-kid, not everyone is meant to be in
[16:10] Speaker 1: a blended family. It sucked for me and for many others.
[16:14] Speaker 1: It's nice to see a parent put their kid's best
[16:16] Speaker 1: interests first before their own. Most are not like you.
[16:20] Speaker 1: Who is really watching the clock? Backstory. I used to
[16:24] Speaker 1: work in hotels years ago. The hotel I worked at
[16:27] Speaker 1: had a policy that required at least one staff member
[16:29] Speaker 1: to be present 24-7. I worked as a part-time front
[16:32] Speaker 1: desk clerk and relief night auditor, which meant I never
[16:35] Speaker 1: knew when I would be scheduled. While 16-hour shifts were uncommon,
[16:39] Speaker 1: They were expected of me when the main night auditor
[16:41] Speaker 1: called in sick. Onto the story. I had a middle
[16:44] Speaker 1: manager who got bored and enjoyed ruffling feathers for entertainment.
[16:48] Speaker 1: It was annoying but I only had to deal with
[16:50] Speaker 1: them for 2-3 days a week because no one else
[16:52] Speaker 1: wanted to cover the night audit. I got over it
[16:54] Speaker 1: and just dealt with it. This manager also loved to
[16:57] Speaker 1: sleep in and would routinely arrive late in the mornings.
[17:01] Speaker 1: I couldn't stand them but they were my boss so
[17:03] Speaker 1: I did my best to handle the situation. One day
[17:06] Speaker 1: I got a call waking me up at 11am because
[17:09] Speaker 1: I was sleeping off my graveyard shift. I was told
[17:12] Speaker 1: to report to the hotel for a disciplinary meeting with
[17:14] Speaker 1: the middle manager and my general manager of the hotel,
[17:17] Speaker 1: my boss's boss. I asked if I could come in
[17:20] Speaker 1: before my shift that night to get some sleep. They
[17:22] Speaker 1: said I had to arrive within the hour. It took
[17:25] Speaker 1: me 30 minutes to drive there, or they would add
[17:27] Speaker 1: in insubordination and other charges to my file. Needing the
[17:31] Speaker 1: job for rent, I complied and arrived at the hotel half-asleep.
[17:35] Speaker 1: On my drive, I thought about how to address the
[17:37] Speaker 1: overtime issue. It took me a few minutes, but I
[17:39] Speaker 1: remembered that the middle manager had been consistently late for
[17:42] Speaker 1: the past month. When I showed up to the meeting,
[17:44] Speaker 1: I was cheerful and smiling, which displeased both the GM
[17:48] Speaker 1: and my boss. My boss went on a tirade about
[17:51] Speaker 1: how cheating company time was unacceptable. I remained calm and
[17:55] Speaker 1: let them vent their frustrations, which seemed to be fueled
[17:57] Speaker 1: by payroll or HR concerns about my paychecks. The GM
[18:01] Speaker 1: then gave me a shorter but more professional dressing down
[18:04] Speaker 1: about costing the company excessive money. I calmly suggested comparing
[18:08] Speaker 1: my punch times to the staffing schedule and the start
[18:11] Speaker 1: and end times of the people I was relieving and
[18:13] Speaker 1: who was relieving me. We reviewed the times and saw
[18:16] Speaker 1: that there was only a 3-5 minute overlap between my
[18:19] Speaker 1: shift and the next crew shift. The GM was upset
[18:22] Speaker 1: and the middle manager looked caught off guard as their
[18:24] Speaker 1: clock in showed they were arriving at 7 or even 7.30
[18:28] Speaker 1: when their start time was supposed to be 6 a.m.
[18:31] Speaker 1: The GM then informed me that they would reimburse me
[18:33] Speaker 1: for the time it took me to drive to and
[18:35] Speaker 1: from the hotel as well as the duration of the meeting.
[18:38] Speaker 1: They also said the write-up would be dropped in light
[18:40] Speaker 1: of the new information. Fallout. The middle manager continued to
[18:44] Speaker 1: make my life miserable until I left, but at least
[18:46] Speaker 1: they never gave me grief about overtime after that. They
[18:49] Speaker 1: started showing up on time at 6am and not snoozing
[18:52] Speaker 1: until 7. My paychecks were smaller, but I was able
[18:55] Speaker 1: to get more sleep due to the improved morning commute. Edit.
[18:59] Speaker 1: I was aware that my paychecks were larger than expected
[19:01] Speaker 1: for my wage. I never complained about staying late because
[19:04] Speaker 1: hotels pay only a bit more than minimum wage for
[19:07] Speaker 1: graveyard shifts. I kept quiet about my paycheck and dealt
[19:10] Speaker 1: with the sleep deprivation knowing that the extra cash was important.
[19:14] Speaker 1: On the way to work, I had a moment of
[19:15] Speaker 1: realization on how to save myself and conveniently expose the
[19:19] Speaker 1: manager's incompetence. Am I the jerk for rehoming my wife's
[19:23] Speaker 1: dog after she cheated? My wife had an affair and
[19:26] Speaker 1: left me. No kids, thank goodness, but she did leave
[19:30] Speaker 1: behind her dog. After she left, I packed up all
[19:33] Speaker 1: her stuff and told her to come get it. She
[19:35] Speaker 1: showed up with her new boyfriend and took everything else
[19:37] Speaker 1: except her dog. She said that her boyfriend was allergic
[19:40] Speaker 1: to dogs so she couldn't take him. I told her
[19:43] Speaker 1: to take him to her parents' house or to a friend.
[19:45] Speaker 1: She said she would make arrangements and come back, but
[19:48] Speaker 1: she didn't. After I tried contacting her too many times
[19:51] Speaker 1: about the dog, and only about the dog, she blocked me.
[19:55] Speaker 1: I took care of him until his food started running low.
[19:57] Speaker 1: I wasn't going to spend any money on him, so
[20:00] Speaker 1: I gave him to a friend of a friend. One
[20:01] Speaker 1: of their dogs had recently passed, and they were familiar
[20:04] Speaker 1: with his breed. We got together at a dog park
[20:07] Speaker 1: to see if their dog got along with my ex's.
[20:09] Speaker 1: They got along great and he went home with them.
[20:12] Speaker 1: That was two months ago. My ex finally unblocked me
[20:15] Speaker 1: and contacted me to say that she still hasn't found
[20:17] Speaker 1: anyone to take care of her dog and to ask
[20:19] Speaker 1: me to keep him for her. I was honest and
[20:22] Speaker 1: told her that the dog was long gone. She's upset
[20:24] Speaker 1: now and wanted the contact information for the person I
[20:27] Speaker 1: gave him to. I refused. She said she was going
[20:30] Speaker 1: to sue me. I told her go ahead. Our mutuals
[20:33] Speaker 1: are divided. Some think she's a jerk for just leaving
[20:36] Speaker 1: her dog with me. Some think I'm the jerk for
[20:38] Speaker 1: giving away her property. I think she lost all rights
[20:41] Speaker 1: to him when she blocked me. Not the jerk. She
[20:45] Speaker 1: left the pup. You found him a good home. You
[20:47] Speaker 1: could have taken him to the shelter, but you did
[20:49] Speaker 1: the right thing. Not the jerk. You went above and
[20:53] Speaker 1: beyond by taking care of the dog and then finding
[20:55] Speaker 1: him a suitable new home where he's clearly happy and
[20:58] Speaker 1: well cared for. My Karen neighbor is demanding a copy
[21:02] Speaker 1: of my apartment key. So I recently moved into my
[21:05] Speaker 1: new apartment complex less than 60 days ago. There are
[21:08] Speaker 1: only four units in my complex, two downstairs and two upstairs.
[21:12] Speaker 1: I reside downstairs in the second apartment. Everyone here has
[21:15] Speaker 1: lived here for at least five years whilst the oldest
[21:18] Speaker 1: resident has lived here for eight. Everyone knows everyone and
[21:21] Speaker 1: has been good friends with each other for as long
[21:23] Speaker 1: as each one has been a resident. Everyone in my
[21:25] Speaker 1: building has kids besides me and the majority are single mothers.
[21:29] Speaker 1: I'm the only man. Apparently, there's an unspoken agreement I
[21:33] Speaker 1: at first had no knowledge of between the other tenants
[21:35] Speaker 1: that the hallway door is to never be locked. No
[21:38] Speaker 1: one ever locks the hallway door. That was until I arrived.
[21:42] Speaker 1: From my knowledge, no one in the building has a
[21:44] Speaker 1: hallway key, just the keys to their own apartments. The
[21:47] Speaker 1: cost to replace a key is $ 70, quoted from my landlord.
[21:51] Speaker 1: I just finished up my place and have officially moved
[21:53] Speaker 1: in for about three weeks now. Each time I leave
[21:56] Speaker 1: and come back from my complex, I always lock the
[21:58] Speaker 1: hallway door. It's always been important to lock all doors
[22:01] Speaker 1: around me. My neighbor that works night shift has arrived
[22:05] Speaker 1: home for the past couple of weeks to a locked
[22:07] Speaker 1: hallway door, which is a surprise given that the door
[22:09] Speaker 1: hasn't been locked for years. Apparently, everyone lost their key
[22:13] Speaker 1: their first year or so living in the complex. I
[22:16] Speaker 1: will hear continuous knocking and banging until someone comes to
[22:19] Speaker 1: open the door. The first few nights I was awakened
[22:22] Speaker 1: and I got up to unlock the door. After the
[22:24] Speaker 1: first week, I've since stopped answering and my neighbor will
[22:27] Speaker 1: get up to go unlock it to let our other
[22:29] Speaker 1: neighbor in. If my neighbor isn't home or doesn't wake
[22:32] Speaker 1: up to come to the door, she will knock and
[22:34] Speaker 1: bang on every window and yell until someone comes to
[22:37] Speaker 1: open the door. Yesterday, my neighbor asked if I could
[22:40] Speaker 1: please leave the door unlocked, given that it's always been
[22:42] Speaker 1: that way, and they would like me to continue doing so.
[22:45] Speaker 1: I expressed that while we live in a dangerous neighborhood,
[22:48] Speaker 1: rated one of the top five most dangerous in our city,
[22:51] Speaker 1: I feel more safe knowing strangers can't enter our buildings.
[22:54] Speaker 1: While she understood my concerns, she assured me no one
[22:57] Speaker 1: ever comes here other than residents and their visitors and
[23:00] Speaker 1: my safety is not to worry about. I had to
[23:03] Speaker 1: beg to differ. She then asks would I mind lending
[23:06] Speaker 1: her my hall key so she can make a copy
[23:08] Speaker 1: and let others make their own copy from hers. I
[23:11] Speaker 1: politely declined because I wasn't comfortable with that. She offered
[23:14] Speaker 1: to pay me to make a copy myself in which
[23:16] Speaker 1: I also declined. For the past week, my neighbors have
[23:20] Speaker 1: barely spoken to me. We usually tell each other good
[23:22] Speaker 1: morning and chat a little bit or just say hi
[23:24] Speaker 1: or bye but not even that nowadays. My neighbor whom
[23:28] Speaker 1: volunteers at the food bank in our community would come
[23:30] Speaker 1: back with goodies and share with everyone in the complex
[23:33] Speaker 1: and she no longer knocks on my door to offer
[23:35] Speaker 1: me a box as she usually did every Wednesday. I
[23:38] Speaker 1: don't care for the food but the change in this
[23:40] Speaker 1: routine leads me to believe I may have upset the
[23:42] Speaker 1: rest of the tenants and I honestly don't want any
[23:45] Speaker 1: bad blood. So, my understanding is that this is a
[23:48] Speaker 1: communal hallway leading to individual apartment entrances? And the doors
[23:52] Speaker 1: to individual apartments can be locked? I don't understand why
[23:55] Speaker 1: you wouldn't let them copy your hallway key if that's
[23:57] Speaker 1: the case to be honest. It costs like 3 to
[23:59] Speaker 1: 5 dollars. You're the jerk. Not always. Some high security
[24:04] Speaker 1: keys can be expensive, but it doesn't matter as he's
[24:07] Speaker 1: not being asked to pay for it. You're the jerk.
[24:09] Speaker 1: You live in a dangerous neighborhood and you're making it
[24:11] Speaker 1: so your neighbors are trapped outside at night. You aren't
[24:14] Speaker 1: participating in letting them in despite knowing that you locked
[24:17] Speaker 1: them out and you refuse to get them a copy
[24:19] Speaker 1: of the communal door key even though they're happy to
[24:21] Speaker 1: pay for it. Dude, you suck. Counterpoint, why has everyone
[24:26] Speaker 1: else lost their high security door key? Landlords should charge
[24:29] Speaker 1: them all to replace the lock. That's a serious concern.
[24:33] Speaker 1: If they pay you for a copy, I don't see
[24:35] Speaker 1: what your issue is. It's $ 70 for the landlord to
[24:38] Speaker 1: do it, so it would be cheaper if you did
[24:40] Speaker 1: it for everyone. If you want that community and connection,
[24:43] Speaker 1: then you have to give a little to get a
[24:44] Speaker 1: little back. You're the jerk. Am I the jerk for
[24:48] Speaker 1: jumping out of the way when my niece and nephew
[24:50] Speaker 1: try to push me into the pool? Plus updates. My
[24:53] Speaker 1: folks decided to host a barbecue because I guess that's
[24:56] Speaker 1: what older people do. I declined because I really don't
[24:59] Speaker 1: like my two sisters, their husbands or their kids. Wife
[25:02] Speaker 1: and I are child free. Mom then pressured my wife.
[25:06] Speaker 1: Long story short, we went. By the time we arrived,
[25:09] Speaker 1: there were about 20 people there. My sisters and their
[25:11] Speaker 1: husbands were already solidly buzzed. Drunk, really. My mom was
[25:15] Speaker 1: spending 100% of her time trying to keep the nieces
[25:18] Speaker 1: and nephews, ages 7 to 11, more or less under control.
[25:22] Speaker 1: My dad had strategically retreated to the whirlpool part of
[25:25] Speaker 1: the pool with small cooler full of beers. Wife and
[25:28] Speaker 1: I made small talk with miscellaneous people, ate food, and
[25:31] Speaker 1: we had a frozen margarita. Sisters and brother-in-laws took turns
[25:34] Speaker 1: criticizing us for being late, not being in our swimsuits,
[25:37] Speaker 1: and messing up the vibe. Whatever. typical suburban summer get-together.
[25:42] Speaker 1: About 45 minutes in, two of the kids ran at
[25:44] Speaker 1: one of the neighbor guests who was standing next to
[25:46] Speaker 1: the pool and pushed her in. She was at the
[25:49] Speaker 1: pool steps, stumbled in, but didn't really fall, so only
[25:52] Speaker 1: got halfway. She was clearly very unhappy about it, but
[25:55] Speaker 1: she didn't make a scene, just went over to where
[25:57] Speaker 1: the parents were, grabbed their towels, dried herself off, and left.
[26:01] Speaker 1: Sisters and brother-in-laws thought it was funny. A bit later,
[26:04] Speaker 1: I was standing a few feet away from the pool,
[26:06] Speaker 1: chatting away with someone. I saw three of the kids
[26:09] Speaker 1: running full tilt at me from the corner of my eye. Obviously,
[26:12] Speaker 1: I was next. Not that it's terribly difficult to outwit
[26:15] Speaker 1: the kids, but I just jumped out of their way
[26:18] Speaker 1: at the last second. All three of them ran straight
[26:20] Speaker 1: into the pool at full speed. Most of the other guests,
[26:23] Speaker 1: including my wife and me, started laughing, but their moms,
[26:27] Speaker 1: who as I mentioned were pretty buzzed, absolutely freaked out. Apparently,
[26:31] Speaker 1: two of the kids couldn't even swim. Since I wasn't
[26:34] Speaker 1: in swim gear, I stepped back from the pool and
[26:36] Speaker 1: let other people fish them out. the little brats were
[26:39] Speaker 1: bawling their heads off. At that point, all heck broke loose.
[26:43] Speaker 1: The four drunk parents were yelling at everyone in general
[26:46] Speaker 1: and me in particular for what I had done and
[26:48] Speaker 1: also because two of the kids had been videoing the
[26:50] Speaker 1: trick using their parents' iPhones which were now at the
[26:53] Speaker 1: bottom of the pool. One of my brother-in-laws got into
[26:56] Speaker 1: the pool to try to retrieve the phones but his
[26:58] Speaker 1: BMI and BAC made that impossible. No one else volunteered
[27:02] Speaker 1: to help, unsurprising given that my sisters were still jerks
[27:05] Speaker 1: to everyone. I told my sisters it was their job
[27:08] Speaker 1: to watch their kids and that if anything had happened
[27:10] Speaker 1: to them, it would have been their responsibility, not mine.
[27:13] Speaker 1: There were some pretty strong words on both sides. Wife
[27:16] Speaker 1: and I left after the other brother-in-law fell over and
[27:19] Speaker 1: face-planted while yelling at us. Now they're saying I should
[27:22] Speaker 1: have let the kids knock me into the pool and
[27:24] Speaker 1: have their fun and ruin my phone. So, am I
[27:27] Speaker 1: the jerk? Side note, dad, of course, never got out
[27:31] Speaker 1: of the whirlpool. Edit. I realize that they're just kids
[27:35] Speaker 1: and they were just having fun. The fact that they
[27:37] Speaker 1: thought this was okay is more of a reflection of
[27:39] Speaker 1: their parents than them. Just wish we hadn't gone. It's
[27:42] Speaker 1: nice to see my folks and their neighbors, but I really,
[27:45] Speaker 1: really don't like my sisters or their husbands. They don't
[27:48] Speaker 1: hide their envy of us, and they're just exhausting to
[27:50] Speaker 1: be around. I've never been close to my sisters. They're
[27:53] Speaker 1: 8 and 10 years older than me. I also don't
[27:56] Speaker 1: have much in common with their husbands. They're okay guys,
[27:58] Speaker 1: but I just don't give a hoot about the things
[28:00] Speaker 1: that are important to them and vice versa. I do
[28:03] Speaker 1: know that the four of them are somewhat envious of
[28:05] Speaker 1: our lifestyle. Both the sisters are stay-at-home moms, both the
[28:08] Speaker 1: husbands make good money, one makes noticeably more than I do.
[28:12] Speaker 1: But both my wife and I have professional careers, we
[28:15] Speaker 1: don't have kids, and we are way more responsible with money.
[28:18] Speaker 1: As a result, we have a lot more investments, etc.
[28:21] Speaker 1: And we don't have to drive cars full of kid
[28:23] Speaker 1: debris and we take nice trips once or twice a year.
[28:26] Speaker 1: It definitely grates on both sisters and by extension their husbands,
[28:30] Speaker 1: so we get some petty behavior from them on an
[28:32] Speaker 1: ongoing basis. Neither my wife nor I enjoy their company,
[28:36] Speaker 1: which is why I wanted to skip the get-together. Just
[28:39] Speaker 1: not worth it to me. But my wife is a
[28:40] Speaker 1: positive person and usually happy to see them. Hopefully next
[28:44] Speaker 1: time your wife won't feel guilted into going. That's probably
[28:47] Speaker 1: the one positive thing that will come out of this.
[28:49] Speaker 1: Wife is much more tolerant and forgiving than I am
[28:52] Speaker 1: towards my siblings, but based on what she was saying
[28:54] Speaker 1: on the way home, I think she's had it with
[28:56] Speaker 1: them as well. Your dad sounds awesome. Yeah, he's very chill.
[29:01] Speaker 1: He loves being around groups of people. He used to
[29:03] Speaker 1: be in sales. He likes people to enjoy themselves and
[29:06] Speaker 1: is definitely enjoying life as a retiree. He and two
[29:09] Speaker 1: other guys with him just sat there and watched the show.
[29:11] Speaker 1: Mom's cool too, but the situation upset her. Update. After
[29:16] Speaker 1: we left, the party ended on a pretty sour note.
[29:18] Speaker 1: My drunk brother-in-law who face-planted while yelling at me had
[29:21] Speaker 1: to go to urgent care and get his face stitched up.
[29:24] Speaker 1: He was too toasted to drive, so dad took him.
[29:27] Speaker 1: Dad was very not happy about this. Later that evening,
[29:30] Speaker 1: my sister started a group text and said some really
[29:33] Speaker 1: nasty things. Their husbands threw in a few comments as well.
[29:36] Speaker 1: Wife and I blocked the four of them. My mom
[29:39] Speaker 1: called me. she was pretty upset about what they had said.
[29:42] Speaker 1: She and dad were in the chat, and I don't
[29:43] Speaker 1: blame her. Because of the texts, my folks insisted my
[29:47] Speaker 1: sisters and brother-in-laws come over the next day, Sunday, without
[29:50] Speaker 1: their kids, to get some things straight and lay down
[29:53] Speaker 1: some ground rules. Mom's wording. The result was a contrite
[29:57] Speaker 1: if unenthusiastic apology from the siblings via my mom's phone.
[30:01] Speaker 1: I'm glad my wife was with me when they called.
[30:03] Speaker 1: Her hard stares kept me from saying things I wanted to.
[30:05] Speaker 1: I just told them thanks and that we felt no
[30:08] Speaker 1: need to discuss it further. Since I thought things were settled,
[30:11] Speaker 1: I unblocked them. That evening, I got a text from
[30:14] Speaker 1: one of my brother-in-laws telling me that the phones cost
[30:17] Speaker 1: them this much money and asking if I'd be paying
[30:19] Speaker 1: for them. What? I replied, never. Took a screenshot of
[30:23] Speaker 1: his message and sent it to my folks with a
[30:25] Speaker 1: note that we were done with this nonsense. We're going
[30:28] Speaker 1: no contact with sisters and their spouses and not to
[30:31] Speaker 1: invite us to any more holidays or get-togethers if they'll
[30:33] Speaker 1: be there. Then I blocked my sisters and their spouses again.
[30:37] Speaker 1: At that point, crap really hit the fan. Dad called
[30:40] Speaker 1: them and laid into them. Among other things, he told
[30:43] Speaker 1: them that grandkids were not welcome at his place indefinitely.
[30:46] Speaker 1: Since my mom regularly provides free babysitting, that got them
[30:49] Speaker 1: pretty rattled. He also banned them from using the vacation
[30:53] Speaker 1: house and told them my wife and I actually own it,
[30:55] Speaker 1: not he and mom. This completely freaked them out. Both
[30:59] Speaker 1: of my sister's families use that place a lot, including
[31:01] Speaker 1: having their friends up there for weekend getaways. This was
[31:04] Speaker 1: very much out of character for my folks. They'd clearly
[31:07] Speaker 1: had it, and for reference, I never wanted my sisters
[31:10] Speaker 1: to know that we owned the place. We bought it
[31:12] Speaker 1: for my folks, they had always wanted a place in
[31:14] Speaker 1: the mountains. Keeping the ownership quiet was just a way
[31:17] Speaker 1: to avoid drama with my siblings. A couple of days later,
[31:20] Speaker 1: my sisters and their husbands came to our place unannounced
[31:23] Speaker 1: to apologize in person. We were out to dinner and
[31:25] Speaker 1: they left a note. One sister also called me at
[31:28] Speaker 1: work too. I sent her a voicemail. We've decided being
[31:31] Speaker 1: no contact is the best thing for the indefinite future
[31:34] Speaker 1: and haven't interacted with them for at least 3 plus weeks. Personally,
[31:38] Speaker 1: I'm done. They can buzz off. It's been less than
[31:42] Speaker 1: a month, but I have to say that blocking them
[31:44] Speaker 1: has actually made our lives noticeably more peaceful. I hadn't
[31:47] Speaker 1: realized how much ongoing low-level drama they create. It's not toxic,
[31:52] Speaker 1: they're not bad people, they're just tiresome and petty. And
[31:55] Speaker 1: I personally don't care about them using the weekend place.
[31:57] Speaker 1: It's ours technically, but we bought it for my folks.
[32:00] Speaker 1: They control it and they decide who uses it when
[32:02] Speaker 1: they're not there. We pay for all of the operating
[32:05] Speaker 1: costs and taxes. One good thing about this blow up
[32:08] Speaker 1: is that we now know what we'll be doing with
[32:10] Speaker 1: the property once my folks get older. I was prepared
[32:12] Speaker 1: to take over managing it, allocating weekends, maintaining it and such.
[32:16] Speaker 1: But now we know we'll just sell it. And if
[32:18] Speaker 1: we want to go up to the mountains, we'll just
[32:20] Speaker 1: rent an Airbnb. Do this next. Tap here on your
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