Parents Just Don't Understand | Reading Reddit Stories

Hello and welcome to Smoshreads Reddit stories. I'm Shane and today's theme is Parents Parenting And I am joined by two people who are parents one of a baby boy and one of a little tiny napkin Amanda and Trevor thank you for joining me. I'm I hope that you're doing well. I know it's tough It is tough. Yeah, it's tough because he does this thing where he in the morning at like a 30 on the dot He gets up and he starts looking my eyeball because he wants breakfast and we should be clear that napkin when I say napkin It's a dog. It is a dog. Not a napkin. Not a not an actual. Oh, that would be so My son also licks my eyeballs when he wants food and I'm like how'd you get here to stop? Don't even start. I don't think we've we might have I don't think we've done a parent's episode I know I feel like I'm like on my best behavior right now. I feel a little like very polite Yeah, do you think you have takes on parenting net like that have changed or new ones totally changed Yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I'm interested like I would say one of my favorite books is like bringing up the baby Whoa, it's like the French book. It's it's it's a little bit more hands-off. I don't know though It's all it's all kind of intuitive. You you cannot plan how you're going to be as a mom until you become a mom That's what I'm gonna say. Okay, and how do you feel about that with napkin? Um, I feel that way with not yeah, I mean when we first got napkin I mean he was paying all over himself and yeah, and then it was like you know We had to figure that out, but it's figured out now. He's great No, I'm a really great relationship with my actual parents. I feel like they're amazing. I think that they have I feel like they just set me up really well Like I I know that when I am a dad of a human child like I'm obviously not going to be ready, but I feel like they were really good examples for me So everyone says you're never ready, but let me tell you your intuition does actually kick in Okay, you weirdly kind of know what to do. Okay. Let's get into some of these parenting stories Our first one comes from today. I fucked up and it was posted in July of 2020 Bad year anyways, this story goes today. I fucked up by telling my daughter her hero Bob Ross was dead Oh, that's her daughter's hero. What if I was like he died. That's wait. No, he's still painting I don't know what's next mr. Rogers. No, he doesn't know who Bob Ross is he doesn't know who Bob Ross is Of course, I know who Bob Ross is. Oh, then what was happening there? I just was really sad that he died. Oh, I already knew he was no, I already knew he's dead, but it just brought back up some emotions, you know Let's get into this. Okay Obligatory this was two years ago my daughter was four at the time my daughter's love of Bob Ross started in the womb I had a terrible insomnia throughout my pregnancy and I would listen to Bob Ross painting tutorials each night to fall asleep At the time I thought it helped me sleep because it was essentially soothing background noise But recently I've learned about ASMR and I realized that I am super susceptible to certain sounds such as quiet calm voices and the scratching of paintbrushes and tools Anyways, after my daughter was born I continued to have a hard time sleeping This time because of a crying and demanding baby so every night I'd lay down in my bed with her next to me in the bassinet And I'd play Bob Ross as my daughter got older. She began to demand Bob Ross We'd read a board book or two before bed And then we'd watch one half-hour tutorial by the end of these videos my daughter and often myself would be sound asleep for years This routine was continued it continued through my second pregnancy and now with my second daughter as well We watch Bob Ross every single night. We've seen each and every joy of painting tutorial all 403 episodes multiple times Some nights I might think my kids have fallen asleep during book time We are past board books and onto chapter books now But when I close the book and prepare to sneak out of their room inevitably one or both of them chirps up Mama, what about Bob Ross and so we watch Bob Ross Which brings me to the fateful day after watching a particularly compelling episode of the joy of painting my four-year-old side happily and said Mama one day I'd like to go visit Bob Ross Where does he live again to which I replied Muncie Indiana remember? Oh, yes, she said recalling that Bob mentions Muncie frequently and then and to this day I still don't entirely know why I said these words, but honey I have to tell you something Bob Ross died a long time ago We might be able to visit Muncie, but won't be able to meet Bob and my daughter broke down Completely now like most parents. I've seen my kids cry I've seen all their cries when they're angry hungry scared board whining manipulating you name it But I had never heard her cry like this She was completely an utterly bereft She was wailing and punching herself in the chest and thighs while giant strangled sobs burst from her lungs The news that her hero was dead just destroyed her she cried for a solid 20 minutes my husband Helpfully shouted up from the main floor of the house What the hell made you think that would be a good idea? Seriously? What possessed you to tell her that? And I damn dad Enter Enter the huge asshole and I couldn't really answer except that I had felt in that moment that I shouldn't lie to her That I should tell her the truth about Bob Ross and that he wasn't alive anymore After she stopped crying we talked a lot about Bob Ross how he died and about his legacy I told her about how Bob Ross gave a very important gift to the world And that his own love of painting had inspired so many artists and people in every country Even as a four-year-old with limited understanding of life and death she seemed to find some solace in that One point five years later she still brings up how Bob Ross made a lot of people happy and how he makes her happy still So that's my today. I fucked up my lovely five point five and three-year-old daughters will surely be demanding Bob Ross tonight And as always I will oblige them I actually can't I'm actually gonna cry And she she continues to add and just like and don't worry we'll find a way to bring him back using science I don't know why this is getting me so hard Okay, no I whoa that like this might be partly like sympathy because I look Wow, that's so adorable because it's like they're sweet It's like such a wholesome person and he really hasn't inspired so much joy in people And so for even that to translate to a four-year-old to be like oh Bob Ross I also am just like I I'm actually proud of them on because we cannot shield our kids from hardship or death Even and I think why I'm getting some motionals cuz like Oh Yeah, I can't talk about it to be like oh we love Bob Ross and to beat the rest of the episode No, no, I'm not just kidding It's crazy like It's crazy to think that yes such a young you know you think of kids and you think of like oh yeah, you know like they're they're like stupid Like that's No stuff, you know like they're still becoming people, but that like they could experience such like a complex emotion that we feel And it is I mean how connected though that the mom gets to be like I know This is the sucks and it's hard, but he made a lot of people happy and it's like I'm glad I'm really glad that she that she told her because I it's Kids do not want to be lied to I don't think you need to tell your kid everyone who's died But like kids do not want to be lied to I think it actually It it allows them to go. Oh wow. You trust me with this information But can we talk about the asshole husband who is not yeah, who is not what You think that was a good idea. Hey, hey bitches What do you think I was a good idea to tell my daughters the truth? Hey guys and four cruise banquets Yeah, you shut up about Bob Ross. Yeah shut up Um Can I get a fact check on this was Bob Ross was a drill instructor before he became a painter, right? I want to make sure that's true. I think he was a drill instructor And he was like I'm tired of doing this. I want to be kind. I want to spread He was a drill. Yeah, could you look crazy? Yeah, sir 20 years, so he's been in the skies forever Yeah, yeah, something crazy. You would not guess that that's a military man. Well Could you imagine being the the person who got yelled at by him? That's what you'd be in. I ruined my life. I like the Air Force. Wait, he's not that nice. Wait a minute also Wow, maybe the husband's really I'm I'm so on this husband Maybe he's really mad because he never gets to sleep next to his wife He's just a wife who loves Bob Ross I'd love to cuddle you at some point. You just girls and I are busy. You just come downstairs and he's sadly painting trees Just trying to get better on me. It's just him and his wife. She's like going away I haven't showed any TV to call yet, but I I felt like my mom was very honest and open about death and spirits and the only connection that I have to this as like a newer mom is My good friend has four kids and her mom passed and they reacted the same way when their grandmother passed and she really had to explain to them About you know death and but she explained to them in such a way that they would understand it was really helpful of like you know how you know things go into the ground and then they sprout up trees and they live again and things die off the tree. And it's almost like a circle. And I think it's great. I think at an early age, like give the kids a little bit more credit that they actually can understand 'cause they have such complex emotions. And I think the worst thing is like go to your room, go deal with it somewhere else. It's like, yeah, you know what? This does suck and he's gone and we miss him too. And I'm sorry that you're feeling that way. So I'm like, I'm kind of all for it. I mean, again, I haven't experienced it yet with my own son. I don't know what I'll be like if he loses his mind. - Yeah, I mean, it's tough. I mean, I always feel like there's that famous Sesame Street episode from the 80s, where one of the actors passed away. He was an old guy. And they have to explain to Big Bird like he died. And Big Bird's like, fuck, dude, he's fucking serious. (laughing) You just come outside, Big Bird's like smoking a cigarette outside. Just like, wait, wait, this is so random. But do you-- - I'm a massive fucking bird. This sucks, dude. (laughing) - Did you guys see when someone put Goodfellas to Big Bird and then he worked in Ernie. Did anyone see that YouTube video? - What are you talking about? - And it was just like, you fuck my wife. And it's burping like, and Ernie's like, fuck my wife. I'm not a fucking kid. - Oh man, I was just trying to steer this away from the conversation about grief. (laughing) - No, I know, I know, too. - Grief was a big part of my mom was very open about death. Almost to a part where you're just like, yeah, she's like, did you hear? - I bet your mom like twice, and I can see that. That she's the type she's-- - It's a very open conversation with my family. So I have a feeling-- - I think that's good. - It'll be very open with my son. - Yeah. But yeah, I don't know. I feel like I'm far down. I'm not there yet. - Oh yeah. - But I'll definitely be, I'll probably be like this mom. - We have comments here. Someone said, I also watched Bob Ross to fall asleep while pregnant, so, so soothing. You didn't fuck up either. It's important to talk about these things with your kids. Maybe not at bedtime though, but oh well. So, someone said, yeah. - That's terrible. - Before you go to sleep, here's the worst thing you've ever heard in your life. (laughing) - I'm gonna ruin your whole world. - Yeah, get ready for the nightmare. (laughing) - Someone said, hey, I think you made the right choice and Sesame Street agrees. When I was about her age, one of the cast members of Sesame Street died and they did an entire episode about it, showing everyone grieving and explaining it to the younger characters and celebrating the good memories and telling stories and all the things that people do when someone dies. It was beautiful and difficult, but overall, as time has gone on, I am glad they did the episode. It made it something that was okay to talk about and accept. Lastly, someone said, don't keep sadness from your children, show them how to deal with it properly. - Yes. - You're a great mom, not a fuck up by a long shot hugs to all. - Yes. - Update. - Oh! - Bob Ross is a lie. - I knew it! - He's back. - He's back. - He's back. - And he is half mechanical now. (laughing) He is painting at a rate that we cannot comprehend. (laughing) Okay, update. This was an edit from the OP. They wrote, oh my goodness, this blew up. I checked in right before I put my kids to bed and my eldest nice sat up and read some of the comments together. She particularly loved the Bob Ross Lego figurine someone shared. She is a big Lego fan and thought one user's story about their mom becoming a professional painter after watching Bob Ross tutorials was really nice. I also read the post itself to my daughter and she smiled and chuckled along. When it got to the part where her dad questioned my general parenting abilities, she stopped to ask me, why would dad say that to you? (laughing) And when I was done with that. - Well, he thought I should have protected your feelings. She said rather matter of fact, you shouldn't lie to children. So I guess she agrees with my approach. She then said I should get a divorce, no one's kidding. - Divorce is that! - Divorce, dad. And finally to answer the question of, did I know that it was the 25th anniversary of Bob Ross's death today? No, I did not. That honestly blows my mind a little bit because I've been thinking about making this today. I fucked up post for a few weeks. And it just so happens I finally sat down and wrote it up. I couldn't remember the exact year he died until I looked it up on his wiki entry today. And I totally glossed over the specific date. July 4th, what a weird, weird coincidence. Second update, I seriously enjoyed all the funny heart breaking and relatable stories of the first time you experienced your own loss of a hero. Elvis, Michael Jackson, members of the Beatles, MLK, Mr. Rogers, thank you for your comments. I'll continue to read them all. And finally thanks to everyone who shared their own stories of Bob Ross and the influence he had on their lives. It's awesome that he continues to inspire so many people with his art tutorials, love of animals in nature, life advice in kindness, 25 years after his death. The world is truly a better place because of him. If anyone is looking for a good watch, the happy painter is on YouTube as is this gem, where are all the Bob Ross paintings? I'm gonna have to watch those. You know, I did a thousand piece puzzle of a Bob Ross painting in COVID, H and I were stuck. And it was one of the hardest puzzles I've ever done in my life 'cause it was 99% blue. Yeah. I was like, woo! We're stuck inside. And I was like, everything's blue. Yeah. And, you know, totally opposite, but like, that's the biggest thing. Do not lie to your kids, they can tell. That's the other thing. And you imagine if she's like, no, Bob Ross is alive and well, he's happy. Can you imagine how betrayed she would have felt it would have been way worse. Yeah, totally. So did he, did she break up with her, with the father? Yeah. I don't know. Why did daddy say that to you? Why did dad say that shit to you? You guys remember like what the first kind of like, I guess like celebrity or like death that you like kind of felt actually emotionally affected by it anyway. Like there was one that kind of like hit you 'cause I feel like they're like celebrity deaths that I'm like, oh, that's like really tragic or sad but it doesn't like affect me. Like I'm not feeling any. I think the first one for me was Robin Williams. I think that was the first one that I was like, that is really, really, really sad. How old are you when that happened? Oh, I mean, I was in high school probably. He was a baby. Yeah, I mean, there's been a few that have definitely just like hit where it's like, whoa, I don't know. I definitely have moments where I'm just like, oh, it sucks like to not have that person, you know? I have no idea right now. Robin Williams was definitely seriously. I think it was also like the kind of the context of, you know, how we died. Yeah, yeah, it was really tragic. Massive news. I mean, when JFK died, I was like, yeah, I'm sorry, I'm really, I'm really trying to keep that going. Our next story. This comes from "Am I the asshole?" "Am I the asshole for telling my wife to stop playing "Roblox and do her duties as a parent?" Damn. Oh, damn you. That's dumb, bro. All right, I got things to say. This is a 36 year old man writing, "My wife and I have always tried to keep the housework "pretty evenly split between us. "I, for example, mow the lawn and do laundry and dishes "and she meal plans, cooks, and picks up slash drops off the kids. "Lately, this has all changed "because she has become addicted to a game called "Dress to Impress on Roblox." (laughing) If you are familiar, it's a game where you have to dress your character in a themed outfit before the time runs out and the other players rate it from one to five stars. It started off harmless, just a fun thing she would do during downtime before bed, but recently she has missed crucial appointments and chores because of this game. I tried to be understanding and gently remind her to do her tasks, but she would always say she forgot or got distracted. The big argument happened last night when she forgot to pick up our nine year old son from basketball practice, which ended at six o'clock. I hadn't gotten home yet as I had to work late and our son doesn't have a phone, so I had no way of knowing the situation. I eventually got home around seven p.m. and realized he was not in his room. I looked around further and saw that he was nowhere to be found. I walked into our bedroom, confused to ask my wife where he was and found her on her iPad playing the game as always. When I asked her where our son was, her eyes grew wide and I knew what happened without her having to say. I immediately got back into my car and went to pick him up. Luckily, his coach had stayed after to make sure he was picked up safe and I apologized profusely. Apparently, he had been calling and texting my wife who was the emergency contact and she didn't even notice. When we got home, I immediately blew up at her. How could she be so addicted to a kid's game that she completely forgot our son? Now she's telling me it was a one time thing and that I'm an asshole for getting angry. I don't know what to think. I do kind of understand her side of the story as it has only happened one time, but she has to be a responsible adult. She can't just completely forget about our child who has no way to get home on his own. So am I the asshole. - Oh my god. - Yeah, that's my fault. I judged a Reddit story by its title. - You were like, yeah, well no. Okay, so my instinct here on this title is that I was thinking that it was gonna be just like a guy being like, oh, like get off the dang video game or something like that. - Dang it. - Yeah. Not forgetting to pick your child up from a thing and that's tough for that pretty guy. - If I was in his position, I would be livid. - Yeah. - I'd be like, first of all, honey, I watch way too much true crime and hour, one whole hour. It's getting dark. You're in an open field. - Yeah. - That coach probably was like dying to get home and open to my ice cream up. - This could have been so bad. - Yeah, this could have been a whole good. - This isn't really bad at all. also she didn't answer her phone. - Yes. - Is that a timer, honey? - Yeah. - You wanna do dress, you impress? Set a timer. - I'm also confused. She was on her iPad, and I guess the messages weren't going to that iPad, but it's just like, I am someone who's very forgetful. I don't have a kid, but I am someone who's very forgetful. I am like, I am setting a million hours. - You are forgetful? - I think I can be very forgetful, but I set a lot of like, I create the things to remind me, 'cause left to my own devices, I can forget stuff very well. - And there's tears of things to forget. Like there's things that you can forget that's like, oh, I'm annoyed that I forgot that. - Yes. - For getting to pick your child up from a practice, like that is like, you, you gotta be on top of that. And like, for an hour to go by. - And they can't get in touch with you. I would be livid. I mean, okay. She says it was a one time thing. Sounds like it's not really, but this was a one time thing. It's like, okay, that person was mad, they have their own reason, but it's like, okay. But I do think they need to kind of discuss the dress to impress you. - Yeah, that's pretty extreme. I mean, like, I'm thinking if I'm in Hershoes, and I've had moments like this throughout my life, where you're doing something and you're like, oh shit, this has messed up my quality of life, or it's messed up my responsibility. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And I go, I clearly can't have this. Like, I can't do this, right? And that sucks, but it's like, hey, like, I get too sucked into this. - Yeah. - My only comparison is like, sometimes with like, social media, like, some social media, so I'm like, I do have timers on, like, Reddit. - Yeah. - So I'm just like, I will scroll and then be like, shit, an hour with five. - No, yeah. There's a lot of video games that I play that like, especially something like a rogue like, like, if I'm on a good run, I'll forget like, time is passing. And so if I'm playing the game that I know, I have a potential to get sucked into. I'll literally set an alarm on my phone and be like, I'm setting a timer for 40 minutes to check back in with myself. - Totally. - To be like, okay, is there anything that I need to do, or am I missing anything? - And I feel like, I feel like I've heard you talk about this and I've heard other parents talk about this of like, you balance things out and you schedule things out that it's like, hey, now, Sunday, you have this, like, to design it out, where it's like Sunday, the kids are taking care of, play, dress to impress all day. Like, give yourself that, but you need to be mindful about it. - Oh, we always do that. Like, HLB, can I fuck off for an hour and play Diablo or whatever? And I'm like, yes, go do that. Can I go do my thing for an hour? So it's like, the big thing is you just have to communicate, but trust me, with the video games, I'll be like, but it's never gotten to a point where, again, he's not picking up our son anywhere, but it's never gotten to a point where it's just like, he's crying and he misses it. Like, it's kind of like, sorry, kids come first, but again, I also want to try to see her side. Maybe she's really overwhelmed about something. We don't know the context. Maybe she needs to escape from something. Again, you didn't pick up your son. That's kind of-- - That's really tough. - I get why the dad's mad is what I'm saying. - Oh, of course. And it's like, what happens after this? Like, is she willing to go, you know what? I need to, I need to draw boundaries on this. I need to make-- - Or just like, schedule it out, which I don't know, sucks. - It sucks, but it's like, dude-- - Once the kids are taking care of me, do you want to play dress to impress? - Yeah. - 10 PM, okay. I know so many parents who play tons of video games. - Yeah. - Like, there is a balance, you can say. - Same. - If I was ever like, had to stay late from something, it was like, something that I knew was gonna happen. It was like, my parents like, they were busy for whatever reason. And it's like, hey, like, we're gonna be there like 30 minutes late to pick yours up or something. Like, that was communicated. But I feel like my parents were always like, really on top of that stuff. And we played a lot of video games. I played a lot of video games with my parents. We all played runescape together. - That's crazy. - That's so fun. - You know, a lot of people, I talk about runescape a lot. My dad is the one that's made my runescape account. And so we would all do that together. But it never-- - And he'd wake him up like, what's the password? - Yeah, yeah, but I'd wake him up. And then we would sit, you know, we'd all be in the living room killing the runescape bosses. I don't know. - That's cute. - But it never kept him from getting me from a practice. - Right. - So good for him. - Yeah, I think my parents were pretty on it. Or they sent someone. It was like, I'm your mom's friend. It's like, okay, where's like now I would never let my son-- I'd be like, mommy has no friends that you know that would never pick you up. - That was the weirdest thing is get it like someone being like, hey, I'm tear to pick you up and being like an 11 year old and being like, this car smells weird. I don't like the way this car smells. - Maybe random people think, hey, I'm your mom's good friend. Get in, I'd be like, okay. My mom just-- - She was a teacher, she had a lot of random friends. - Oh my God. Again, I know. - I would never, as a kid, my parents were like, anyone we don't know is trying to kill you. I was like, all right, don't trust anyone. - Well, yeah. The verdict is not the asshole, comments, not the asshole. This isn't a chore she's blowing off. This is for getting your own child. How could she not even notice the calls and text from the coach? That's what I'm wondering about. Is something else going on here? Opie said, I'm not entirely sure how she missed all of the messages and phone calls from the coach. We haven't spoken much since the argument. I haven't noticed anything different with her, but I could be missing things. Someone said, is this real? She needs therapy if she is so addicted to a silly kid's game with avatars that she is forgetting her own real child. This is a scary and serious event for your kid. And okay, maybe losing track of time, but missing the calls and text too, that's insane. Not the asshole. Hope your kid is okay. He probably felt so scared and abandoned. - Oh, okay, this person's projecting just-- - Yeah, don't, don't-- - He's like, I was left for days. - Your child is gonna be fucked up forever. - That was your child as well. - Yeah, it's like, yeah, Opie responded. Thanks for your concern. I'm planning on talking to her tomorrow morning because we'll have had a day to cool off and think it over. I talked to my son in the car after the original event and he seemed okay from the perspective. Obviously, a little afraid and confused, but nothing that should impact him in the long run. I'll continue to be checking up on him and making sure, though. Lastly, someone said, not the asshole, but I have questions. Does your wife work? What time does she get home? How does your kid get home when he doesn't have practice? How many kids do you have? - Okay. - Who normally makes dinner and when do you all eat? I'm struggling to understand how there's many-- - I'm struggling to understand how there's many. - What is your answer? - What street did you grow up? - Hold on, how are babies made? - Yeah. - What was your high school mascot? - Are you available to hang out? - Hope you responded. She works part time and usually gets home around 2 p.m. We only have one kid. He gets home on the school bus when there's no practice. She and the past has been the one in charge of cooking and food. But recently, I have started to do this because of the events in the post. We are usually eating around 6.30 p.m. - I was just gonna say, places to get left at, basketball practice, one of the better ones. 'Cause at least you can still get some shots. - He's not, he's another hour. He's basically liberal. - Oh, you're so right. - You get to make your free throws up. - For some reason was thinking so. - He got one hour better at best. - Being outside on a field is a lot worse than being in a gym and being able to get some extra free throws up like-- - Here's what I'm thinking. I just wanna say, I think that she must be going through some stuff. And maybe she's sick of being the lawn to pick them up and do all the dinners. Maybe she wants to mow the lawn. I don't know, but she clearly is escaping from something. - If we're to believe this post, though, he's saying he's been doing all the cooking now. - Well, this is just him. - I know. I know with Reddit, we get one set of story. But it is tough where it's like, I do tend to think like, oh, I know a lot can be put on a person. And we have a lot of stories where it's like, oh, my partner, and then you hear that they're wrong. - And here's what I will say. I think it's totally reasonable for him to be upset. As someone who has played video games my entire life, I've spent a lot of my life preparing and knowing that I get way too sucked into games. If you're just, if this is the first time she's ever gotten sucked into a game like that, I can understand not being prepared for how fast you lose track of time. 'Cause I know, I can predict like, okay, I'm gonna start playing this game. I know I'm gonna lose track of time. - That's a good point. - I've never played a game that sucks you in before. And like just being there and being like, oh my god, I have no idea. Like, I get it, I get it. - That's true. - That's actually a really good point. - Update. - Yes. Why are you saving that? - That's insane. - I made it, we were having a conversation. - Yeah, but hey, say it right now. - Let's get to it. - One and a half weeks later. - Okay. - Hi everyone, thanks for all your advice on my previous post. So I decided to have a conversation with my wife the day after I made the post about the time spent on video games. We talked for a while and I tried to bring up important things people talked about in the comments. I saw a lot of people suggesting that I completely block and delete Roblox from her devices. And I brought that up. Obviously, she didn't take that well. I told her it's completely unacceptable what she has been doing and there needs to be at least a time limit set on her device. I can't control her, but I made it clear it's a very important thing to me and it would damage our relationship if she said no. After I said this, she agreed to the time limits. Another thing I saw a lot in the comments was concern for my wife's mental health. I appreciate people's insight into this because it's something I don't really have a lot of experience in. I asked her if she would consider seeing a therapist and she said she would think about it. People were also concerned about how my son is feeling after all this. I didn't realize that it was something that may have an impact on him. I had a conversation with him and made sure he understood his mom and I love and care for him and that nothing like this would ever happen again. I also have ordered him a cheap flip phone so he wouldn't be completely stranded alone if these events did end up repeating. If there's anything I should do or could do differently regarding my son, please let me know because I don't exactly know how to navigate this situation. I don't want to be too harsh on my wife. We love each other and it's been made more clear after our talk that this should not be marriage ending or cause. if anyone has any further advice or thoughts, I will be happy to read it, thank you. -I think that he also needs to go to a therapist and talk this out with a therapist and not go to his wife and go, "Hey, I shared our very private story with Reddit, and I'm gonna come and tell you what Reddit or said about you and that you need to go to a therapist." It's also like, "Hey, why don't you guys go to a therapist together?" -I'm excited. -I don't know. I'm a little bit like, "I don't really appreciate his update to be completely honest." -They need to get an outside expert opinion from a gamer, because I feel like-- -We're gonna send Trevor. -I truly, I think that for two, if two people don't play video games, and they've never been gamers in their life, this is a real issue, and it's something that's solvable, and I can understand from an outside perspective, if someone plays a video game for a long time and gets sucked into it and forget their responsibilities, someone being like, "What's wrong with you? How could you do this?" -Yeah. -But it's pretty easy. -Do you need a therapist gamer? -Yes. -A gamer therapist. We need more of them. -Yeah. This story kind of, like, it kind of touches on it, but it makes me think of a lot of relationship stories that we read, and it's like, as you said, we only get one side of the story, but a lot of these stories are almost written in a way that it, like, it almost is like you talk about your wife or your husband, like they're a stranger. You know what I mean, where I'm like, -That's what I mean. -Don't you guys know more about each other? It seems like it's like you don't understand your partner at all. -You should bet. -I agree with you. It's almost like they're not in tune with their partner. -Yeah. -It's like, "Go to your partner." -And in that sense, I'm like, "Yeah, you guys, you guys go to a therapist so that you get those spaces to talk more and connect more." -To connect more. That's why I'm like, "Oh, maybe they should go together." And it's like, nothing against a Reddit community, but I don't think that that's going to bring you closer and say, "Hey, I shared this, you know, awful event online for everyone to see." And of course, now we're reading it on the channel. But I'm also just like, the person is right in front of you. Talk to them. Again, I don't know their relationship, but I agree with you. What is this stranger? -It's just something I pick up on in the way that it's written. -Yeah. -If I met them and we saw them in real life, we'd maybe be like, "Oh, you're fine." -Oh, you're fine. -Yeah, you're right. -When it's written, I'm just like, "It just seems like, "I don't know. There's just. " -And I know it's really hard to navigate. Like, you have a kid. You're facing all these events for the first time ever, right? -Yeah. -And you're doing it with your partner. And a lot of different emotions that you've never experienced can come up. I do know that. -Yeah. -But it's also just like, that's why you're. You chose to do it with them. You're doing it together. So, like, talk to them. -Yeah. -Anyways. -All right. Let's move on to our next story. Our next story comes from today I fucked up. Posted in 2019. Today I fucked up by teaching my baby sign language. Classic case, man. -Hey, what's wrong with that? Classic case. I go to this mommy and me thing every week with my daughter, not because it's my kind of thing, but because my mother-in-law paid the membership for a year as a Christmas gift to my one-year-old A.K.A. She doesn't think I am socializing her grandchild enough. And this was her way of passive-aggressively correcting my parenting. Anyways. -Okay. -A lot of information. Anyways, we go to this thing every week for an hour and all the Pinterest moms are planning themed birthday parties and discussing screen time and sharing gluten-free recipes while their kids stare at each other. But all these kids know sign language, and I thought that was pretty damn cool. So, I start looking into this and try teaching my kids some basic signs for basic needs, and it's working. Suddenly, my tiny human who otherwise could not effectively communicate with me knows how to say more and all done and drink. She can call me mom and my husband, Dad, Holy Shit. Thanks, Pinterest moms. I take back all the shit I talked about you to my kid on our weekly drives home. Well, today with my husband out of town, I didn't feel much like cooking and since my daughter is pretty laid back at restaurants, I decided to go out for a quick dinner. The kid loves French fries and so do I. So, we hit the local burger joint and I ordered a beer, a burger with fries and a side of fruit. The server brings a little styrofoam cup with a lid and a straw filled with water for my daughter. And I set it out of her reach so she doesn't Hulk smash the styrofoam and make a mess. So, of course, every time she wants some, she signs drink and every time she wants my attention, she signs Dad because apparently the slightly different sign for mom isn't as fun for her. Okay, whatever. Well, I noticed a couple tables away. There are a couple of women who are also signing to each other, but they're looking over at us and snickering. I'm like, okay, I did like four quick Google searches. Maybe I botched some of what I taught her. It's fine. But then, as the women are leaving, they stop by our table and one of them lays her iPhone down with the message typed out for me to read. It says something to the effect of she's calling you dumb and telling you she wants to drink alcohol. I'm like, wait, what? So, she continues to show me that I have in fact taught my daughter the wrong signs that there are different signs for drink, non-alcoholic beverage, and drink alcohol. And by bawling her fist up instead of using a flat hand at her forehead, my daughter has been calling you dumb instead of dad, which was already wrong, obviously since I am her mom. I can only imagine what the Pinterest moms would have done had I shown up next week with my kid asking to drink liquor. ETA, thanks everyone. I'm glad you all enjoyed this post. Please understand that the conversation that took place with the deaf woman was totally lighthearted. They were not correcting our signing to be rude or in thinking that I was trying to teach my child proper ASL. They were not oblivious to the fact that baby signing is not the same as ASL. They just thought my baby was cute and used the coincidence to strike up conversation and it was funny and welcome. Also, please note that I literally searched baby sign language and based the signs off of still frames from Google. I have no idea how close they were to the real signs. Additionally, this happened four years ago when my now five-year-old was 12 months. She speaks English well for all of you who are concerned for her development. We were always sure to say the words while signing them. She now has a baby sister who is 12 months old and is signing, which is what reminded me of this story that I decided to share with you all. I'm new to Reddit and did not realize it was obligatory to let you know that this did not happen today. You can take back your upvotes for this as necessary. Smiley face, damn, this OP is. That's so sweet. Do not fuck with this. She said, I'm telling the story and I'm in the driver's seat. I don't want to hear it, but I want to hear it. Okay, so let you know it happened five fucking years ago. Yeah. And by the way, this conversation with deaf people was good. It was a good one. They were having a good time. They were having fun. My child called me dumb. The baby at the burger joint, hey dumbass, give me a beer. My conspiracy is that the baby was signing correctly and literally saying, you're dumb. It was like, dumb. Give me your damn beer. I don't actually know drink for alcohol now because I know milk. I know daddy, mommy, more. All done. And then, please. I don't know. Because I try to, I try to, I try to teach Colin. You know, he does this. I go, yay, and he goes. That's awesome. But I try to do mommy, daddy. Teach him how to ask for a beer. I love that she was teaching her sign language. What I really want to dig into this relationship with her mother-in-law, that because her mom got her mommy and me, she thought that she couldn't be a good mom. I love that. I love that the main issues with this story have nothing to do with the story itself. It's like, oh, you and your mother-in-law, and you and the people replying to this story. Yeah, I know. Like, thanks to you, fuckers responding. This mom is, you know, she's feeling all the feels. Oh, she is. It's her. Also, mommy and me classes. Yeah, sometimes they can be a little like, you know, uppity because you're like, oh, you have a lot of time with your hands, but also they can be really great too. I did a couple at the library for free. Nice. Yeah, it was, it was actually really fun. Mom's were just like, what do I do? What do you do? What are you doing? What am I doing? Do you close? I gave this family a lot of clothes. Yeah. That's awesome. Comments, hey, dummy, I want shots. As a child of deaf parents and being a certified ASL interpreter, I 100% believe this happened. I've heard and seen far, far, far worse. Someone said, ha, ha, ha, ha, I love it. We had a girl in my sign language class. I took in college who was so impressed because she had a sign language name from a deaf friend. And she showed it to us in the teacher. The teacher very calmly and straight face said, your friend named you bitch. You just introduced yourself as, my name is bitch. [LAUGHTER] That's incredible. That's so good. Lastly, someone said, as a deaf person, I love this too funny. I frequently see little kids signing a fuck you. Accidentally, when they mean thank you, the signs are super similar. I've definitely had to hold back after a few times. I think if I'm the mom, I'm not fixing it. I think it's funny as hell that every time my baby wants to drink, they just ask for alcohol. I don't think you can fix it. Honestly, I think once that baby has been like, this is what's happening. It's a reflex. You're done. You can't change it. I'm trying to teach. Bye-bye. And so he just goes, that's kind of what I do. I feel like sometimes I'm leaving and I'm going to leave that I just go like this. Enough. Yeah. I love it when kids wave like that. I love it when the kids goes like, bye-bye, like that's so funny. I don't think that's what they're doing, guys. That's what they're going, booby. I'm talking about like a six-year-old dude. You're gross. Anyways, as a gross person, as a gross mom, hey, as a gross mom, all moms are gross. You know what I love is that this is her like first post. So she's like, she's navigating the world. I think her voice is this. I think her voice is. I'm navigating the world and Reddit. Figuring it out. Enough with the up folks. God damn you, Redditors. Take back your damn. - Oh, boys, damn. - All right. - Okay, chain's done. - All right, I'm gonna move on to the next story. - Reddit boy next story, let's go. - Reddit boy, oh my God, that's so mean. It's so crazy. - That's true. - Wouldn't you like to know reddit boy? - Reddit boy. (laughing) - Kids seem sketchy. Back to you. - Classic. - A classic. - A classic. - You guys, you know what I'm referencing. - Yes. - Would you like to know weather boy? - I don't know. - It's a credible sketch. - Really good video. - Anyways, our next story comes from Am I the Asshole? - Ooh. - This was posted on 2025, like July of 2025. - 20? - So, you know, cool. - Am I the asshole for putting a stop to my 12 year old daughter's period party? - What? - Let me set the stage, my wife and I, 43 male, 42 female, have two daughters, seven years apart. 19 year old was at college in a different state when this happened. Girls are very different. 19 year old is outgoing, extroverted, loves meeting new people, trying new things, et cetera. 12 year old is shy, a home body finds things she's comfortable with and sticks with them. In fairness, 19 year old was kind of like this until she was 16 or so. Maybe it's genetic. A couple months ago, 12 year old came to me in my home office, obviously upset. She stammered a bit, then manages to tell me that she just got her first period. I play the supportive dad, comfort her, and get her a box of sanitary pads my wife had bought earlier in the year, guessing this was going to happen sooner or later. And go over the instructions with her. She goes into her bathroom, does what she has to do, thanks me for my help. I got her some ice cream in my doll, told her there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and she could always come to me for anything. Wife gets home later that day, 12 year old tells her what happened. Wife starts crying. My little girl is growing up, et cetera, then asks who should be invited to the period party, which I only knew of from listening to Bert Kreischer. If they were a thing when our 19 year old started, she never asked for one. 12 year old immediately closes off, says she doesn't want a period party, doesn't want anyone to know. Wife tries to talk to her some more, but 12 year old ignores her and goes to her room. Wife tries to enlist my aid in changing her mind, but I tell her she said she didn't want one, don't worry about it. Two days later, I get home from running errands, and before I can even make it to the stairs, 12 year old runs up to me and asks if she can do her homework in my office. I'm confused, but say sure, and she bolts upstairs. At this point, I started to suspect what was going on, and walked into the living room to find that my wife had not only decorated it, like something which wouldn't have looked out of place on my super sweet 16, but there were several family friends, all women, and a few I recognized as neighborhood mothers. I back in Wife into the hall, she asked where 12 year old is, and I tell her she wanted to do her homework in my office. She rolls her eyes and starts to move past me, but I step in front of her. I say, what are you doing? She says, going to get our daughter, it's her party. I say, she told you specifically she didn't want one of these, and she replies, oh, she didn't mean that. This is an important time for a girl. She needs to know not to be ashamed of her body. I say, she's not. I already explained things to her. She just doesn't want to talk about it anymore. She says, I don't expect you to understand this is just for us women. She actually tried to push past me, but I stepped into the doorway and completely blocked her. She said, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you? You know how shy she is. You knew she didn't want you to do something like this, and you did it anyway. My wife said, I told you it's for her own good. We can't let her grow up with a negative attitude towards something so natural. To which I say, and we're not. I told you she knows what's going on. She's getting a handle on it. She just doesn't want to talk about it with anyone else for right now. She says, well, it wasn't your business to tell her about it anyway. I say, you were at work. Was I supposed to ignore her for four hours until you got home? She says, you could have called me. I would have come home. I say, it still would have taken you an hour. She was upset. I knew what was going on. I talked her through it. My wife said, you don't know anything about it. It's never happened to you. At this point I gave up. Point to my wife, no. I've never had a period, but I had three older sisters and a live-in girlfriend before my wife and I met. Plus we've been married almost 21 years. I'm pretty well versed. She again tries to move past me, but I don't move. No, she doesn't want this. I'm not letting you make her do it. My wife says, fine, have it your way. She goes back to the living room and tells the other ladies the period party is off because I'm being a jackass. I lose it, follow her in, and let the women know calmly, but in no uncertain terms, that I appreciate what they wanted to do. But our daughter made it explicitly clear that she did not want this party. And my wife is trying to pressure her into it. Several of the moms frowned at her. My wife starts to backpedal, talking about how she didn't think our daughter was being serious, but I ignore her and begin taking down the decorations. Everyone clears out shortly, and once the coast is clear, our daughter comes back downstairs. My wife gives her a half-assed, in my opinion, apology, again saying she didn't think she was serious, but our daughter also ignores her and just starts doing her homework in her usual place at the table. My wife was pissed at me for a week, claiming I undermined her authority as a parent, apparently by not helping her force our daughter into doing something she didn't want to do, and made her look bad in front of the neighborhood moms, by telling them she'd been doing this against our daughter's wishes. So am I the asshole? - Jesus Christ. I just went through my whole middle school. Teenage years like, oh my God, I'm an adult. What? First of all, I've never heard of a period party. Second of all, he is not the asshole. His mom infuriated me. Thirdly, she 100% made her daughter's period about her. Absolutely. - Oh. - I'm like, hey, yes, having food as natural, is it fun? - No. - Doesn't hurt, yes. Do I want to hide away and wear a bag? Yeah. Go fuck off. - No, I-- - It's so annoying. - I really respect, I mean, this is clearly like a very awesome dad. I respect him for standing his ground and like, you know, being like, hey, this isn't what she wanted. Like, I'm like, trying to respect his daughter's wishes. Like, I think that's really awesome. I think there's a lot of dads that like, wouldn't give a shit or would like be like-- - They'd say whatever, go ahead. - Also like, don't you, wouldn't it make you proud that your husband, you know, stood up and took a stand and was like, I got you. I know exactly what you do. You can come into me anytime. Like, I would be like, wow, I wasn't here. I'm sad I missed it, but thanks for taking over. Like, I don't understand this. Why are you in competition with your husband? And I get it. Taylor's all this time to be like, you don't understand. You don't know what we're going through. Trust me, I've said it. But it's also just like, the man is doing his best. No, he doesn't experience a period. But he's doing his best to try to figure out how to communicate that with his daughter. - Yeah. - Weird territory. It's just clearly this-- - Yeah, 'cause-- - 'cause he doesn't understand what it's like to have a period. But he doesn't understand what it's like to not want a party thrown for you and then people are going to do it anyway. They're not respecting the daughter's boundaries. It's like, the daughter's like, hey, I don't want this. And she's gathering the whole entire neighborhood for what she feels embarrassed about. - I wouldn't even want to be invited to that. I'd be like, I feel like-- - I'd be like, watch a movie with her in half or-- - I guarantee you, I guarantee you, I guarantee you, the whole neighborhood's, everyone was invited on the premise of like, she's so excited about the she wants to do this. - Yeah. - Like, I know what my daughter wants and she wants this. - I want to ask this mom, did she have a period party? Like did her mom put on a period party for her? I literally have never heard of a period party. - Well, he's saying he hasn't heard about it, but if it's a thing that's thrown around on podcasts, it might be a thing she heard about that she's like, oh, this is gonna be really cool. And I'll look cool if I do this. - To be honest, it-- - It gives, it reads as like vlog parent, but I don't think they're vlog parents, but this sounds like things vlog parents do. - As I think first getting your period, it's such a weird thing because it's a very weird timeline 'cause you may be getting it late. A lot of your friends already have it, so you feel like what's wrong with me, or you might get it early and be like, what's wrong with me? It's actually kind of a scary time. - Yeah, totally. When I read the title, the premise of like, we throw a party like for this thing that you're unsure of and scared of-- - Celebrate, it's natural. - Fine, yeah. It's because the daughter has so clearly communicated that she does not want this and they're pushing this, they're making it worse in the process. - Also to like keep it private, if the daughter is like, okay, it finally came yay, then it's just like, yeah, do your thing that works for your family. - Yeah, show. - I feel like also being that age, it's already kind of weird to be like a preteen teen, whatever, and there's just like a bunch of adults. Like I don't party like when my parents had adults over the house, it was like fine, but I wasn't like, yeah, this is lit. - And then the party is for something that you're really uncomfortable about and don't want. Like that's just makes it exponentially worse. - What are the neighbors gonna talk about? Like, I got so bloated, I couldn't spend my jeans. Why, see you again, party. - And that was the 70s thing for different then. - I lost my period completely, I got caught flashing. - All I did when I got a period was smoke a whole pack of cigarettes. - I eat, no, I'm, stop. (laughing) - I do that too late. - Yeah. - I do as a cigarette filter as a tampon one time. Jesus Christ. - I got stuck for two days. (laughing) - You're in for it, honey. - Cool part. - You get, you wanna come to my Metapods? - Okay, next week. - I can't sleep. (laughing) - 'Cause I'm dripping sweat. - I lost it. - I'm so happy right now. - Let's cut the cake. - I wanna kill my husband. You wanna come over? - Yeah. (laughing) - My husband died and then I got my period again. - I gotta be a little bit more. - Yeah. - You got us, you guys are making this party sound pretty awesome. - Honestly, as a kid, you probably wouldn't have learned a lot. - You should have learned. - I wouldn't have been valuable, she just didn't want to do it. - Getting to many, Ben, we'll have a bear on the way over. - To be clear, I did go to Six Flags when I got my first boners. (laughing) - I was. (laughing) - Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. - I'm a dad literally. - Wait, wait, let's dive into this. - Well, it's everybody knows that when you get your first boner, you gotta go on Totsu. - Do you want to come to. (laughing) - You gotta do the flip. There's a way as a picture. It's just, the kid who's like mad. - I literally was thinking, you're sitting here quietly being like, what would be the equivalent, like, if someone threw a kid a boner party? - Boner party, he was so nervous about getting it, but it's natural. - Oh my god. - It's superman. (laughing) - Oh, no! (laughing) - No, it's stuck on the bar! (laughing) The inertia's making the butter crazy. (laughing) - Okay, you gotta put your boner away. There's no way we can get that safety bar. (laughing) - Hey, the safety bar. (laughing) - Car two, we can't get the safety bar up, 'cause he's got a big, old, dirty, old, dirty, gonna save the bar. (laughing) - Oh my god, guys, we got unstuck from the ride. - Do you wanna go get a churro? (laughing) - Churro, churro! (laughing) - I got a boner! (laughing) - Jesus. (laughing) - Now I have no idea what that would feel like. (laughing) - You ain't gonna understand, I didn't get it. - You got it. - Well gone, like I'm so excited about the ride, it's just a massive. (laughing) Or small, hey, whatever, whatever you got. - It's like your hands, it's doing the wave with your hands, close to the direction. - I feel like it's the first example of just, like, things being so unfair, like what women have to deal with when they go through puberty, and then, like, boys, it's just like, oh yeah, you just better hope you don't get called up to go to the front of the class to talk about something. (laughing) That's the only difficult thing. - Yeah, that would suck. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Also, women getting dirty in their pants. That's terrible. - Yeah. - 'Cause you can't see it. That's the worst. You're walking any of a red butt. (laughing) - Ooh, yeah, at least I can see my huge boner. (laughing) - All right, verdict is not the asshole, comments. Not the asshole. Purity is an awkward, embarrassing time. Having your parents shine a spotlight on every confusing milestone would be a nightmare. Imagine a first-pube party or a wet dream dinner. - Ew. - Whoa. - Whoa. - Jesus. - All right. - Who is this person? - At least come up with boner party. Someone said, "Not only are you not the asshole, but you're a goddamn gem for the way you stuck up for your daughter and communicated clearly, even to the party goers, Chef's kiss." Update. - Whoa. - A lot of updates today. - Update, my wife tried to throw us on a boner party. (laughing) - And we went to Six Flags. (laughing) - Update, in the comments, OP wrote, "Hey everyone, thought I'd post an update." Yes, it's quick, but it's just a further explanation plus some commentary. Had to split it into two because it was too long. Next part is in the reply to this reply. First, I'd like to thank everyone who supported my decision. Second, to those who decided I'm AI or use chat GPT to write this, nothing I can say will convince you one way or the other. So do your thing, man. There's a little emoji there. Third, I'm not going to divorce my wife or anything like that. She's an incredible woman. And as corny as it sounds, my one true love. She's been an amazing mom, never done anything like this before, wasn't planning on posting it to social media. She barely even uses Facebook. She just made a misstep here for reasons which I will get into shortly. I can't respond to every comment, but I'll expand on some which caught my attention. 12-year-old did, in fact, get the talk from wife when she turned 12. So she knew what was happening, but it was still something she hadn't experienced before. So it threw her a little bit. I emailed my two closest sisters and they both said in their opinions, her reaction was normal. As one of them put it, even at best, it can be a shock regardless of whether or not you're prepared for it because it just happens. And even if you felt PMS-style symptoms without ever having felt them before, you might not guess what they are until afterward. No, I did not notice the decorations being put up. I had to go out and run some errands related to my work so I was gone about three to four hours, more than enough time for my wife to decorate. Before we had kids, my wife and I agreed we would treat boys or girls the same when it came to bodily functions. For example, we'd make sure the boys be comfortable going to her with questions or problems if I wasn't around and vice versa. And over the years, we would keep up with age-appropriate literature so we'd be equally informed. Just so happened, we only had girls. Around 10 or so, when they started wanting more detailed explanations of where babies come from and such, we always conducted such conversations as a team, making it clear to each of them they could count on either of us. That being said, there have been some things which I never took part in. For example, the 19-year-old never asked me to take her brush-hopping. That was all my wife. She did, however, occasionally asked me to pick up tampons or such in the years before she went to college. No, our daughter did not wait to tell me. It happened right after she got home from school on a half day. Wife works 10-hour shifts so she wouldn't have been there. As I said in my original post for another four hours, our daughter has always been closer to my wife than me. 19-year-old was closer to me than my wife. But I was who was available. I'm sure that if we'd both been around, our 12-year-old would have gone to her mom. I wasn't trying to claim the dialogue was verbatim, what was said. My memory isn't that good, but the general tone is there. And some of it, I did, in fact, remember word for word. So after a few days, things around the house went back to normal. My wife cooled off, our daughter began talking to her again and they didn't appear to have any issues, except that our daughter began coming to me more often about things instead of her mom. My wife obviously noticed as they'd been very close before this and was hurt, but said nothing. I guess she figured she deserved it. Finally, one day after I got back from taking our daughter to school, my wife asked if she was still angry with her. I said I didn't think so. My wife just kind of deflated. She looked so miserable that I actually got worried and I asked her if she was still angry. My wife said no, then admitted that she'd fucked up and gotten to into the concept of what others here have called menstruation celebration, which is a great phrase, it even rhymes. She said she'd been so focused on making sure our daughter had a positive experience that she brushed aside her reluctance to take part. And in my wife's defense, our daughter regularly does this. She'll say she isn't looking forward to doing something, but if she pushes past her shyness and takes part, nearly always has a good time. So my wife had thought this was just another example of our daughter doing that and didn't take it seriously. Then my wife said something which threw me for a loop. She asked me if I thought our daughter hated her now. I was stunned and automatically replied, of course not. She's just, and then I kind of trailed off because I didn't really know what to say. Upset was what I finally settled on. My wife was quiet, then I asked her why she'd been so insistent since she hadn't tried to do this with our 19-year-old. No drama there, 19-year-old got hers at 13 while they were out shopping. It was handed before they even left them all. She said when our 19-year-old started, it was just such a busy day that she didn't really have any time to think about it beyond quick. Let's go to the bathroom so I can help. And it wasn't until after this that my wife really thought about her own first period, which basically consisted of her being told virtually nothing beforehand by her emotionally manipulative mother. They've been no contact for 15 years. Barely being 12 when it happened. And once she did go to her mom, only being handed a box of pads and worn not to get pregnant. Nothing more was ever said about that between them. My wife had to learn nearly everything from her friend's mother. Yeah, that old woman is a piece of work. My wife was determined she wouldn't behave like that toward our 12-year-old when it happened. But as events show, she basically went too far in the other direction. Then she asked me what I thought she could do to fix this. I told her the truth. Our daughter probably wasn't going to feel comfortable confiding in her again for a while. But if she really wanted to apologize, she should tell her what she just told me. And so she did. My wife went to pick our daughter up from school. And when they got home, I saw they'd both been crying. But also seemed happier. Turned out, I wasn't quite right. And our daughter had still been harboring some resentment toward my wife for trying to push her into the period party. But after hearing my wife's story, she decided to forgive her, only asking that she promised not to do something like that again. And two months later, this happened in May, things between them seemed to be back to normal. Maybe not the most exciting resolution, but I don't think our daughter is going to hold a grudge over this or has permanently damaged their relationship. - That was an update. - Yay. - Woo! - Let me tell you. - Daughters, harbour, resentment, okay? I come from three sisters, we harbour resentment. We hold onto it for years. Unless there is that interception of a conversation. Like, I think it was really good that the mom went to her and said, "Hey, this is what my mom did." And I just never wanted to be that way. And I went in the other direction. Like kids are resilient, they're smart. They can be like, "Oh, okay, I understand." I think just going back to the grief story, it's really good to start these conversations early. Because there were so many times that my mom would just do things or be mad, and then my dad would be like, "Well, she's blah blah." And I'm like, "Why didn't she just tell me that?" I know it's a lot, but I think it's better just be honest. And I'm glad that she cut right to the point of it. Because she probably would have been mad at her for years. I'm sorry to say that, but it's real. >> I think that's a real thing with between parents and their children, and I'd say even siblings. >> Especially daughters, man. >> I mean, it's okay if you don't have an example. This is a crazy thing to pull, but it's like, do you have examples of a conversation that was had about something that had happened like 10 years prior? Like, I feel like that does, like plenty. Like, I heard plenty of stars being like, "Oh my, I had a conversation with my dad and my mom." about something that happened. when I was a kid, 20 years ago, to finally get resolution about it. - All the time, literally all the time. My mom and I just went through like a major breakthrough of something that happened when I was a teenager. And she was like, you know, I never apologized, but this is how I was feeling. And I was like, I never knew that you felt that way. And now that makes so much more sense. And what's funny is it made me think about other things that I've done to like my sister and been like, oh, I fucked that up. And I once, I once like went to my sister and told her like, oh, sorry, and she broke down. And that was like 15 years ago. I'm telling, I'm not, I'm not even just gonna say women, but like families. You hold on to so much stuff. And it's weird that it's just going to the source and being like, this is where I was actually at in that moment, can solve years of pain. - Totally. - I'm still working on it. - Totally. - But like, I have so many examples of that with my mom. And, you know, with sisters too. I don't know. My family's just a lot of women and it's like, we do, we hold on to stuff. We move forward. We'll have like a great time together. - Totally. - But it's still there. - Yeah. - Yeah. So I'm glad that she did that because that must have been really painful for her to be like, wow, does my daughter hate me? - Yeah. - Anyways, you gotta talk about periods. - I'm always saying that. - Gotta talk. - Trimmer is saying it. - Trimmer, you said that to me this morning. Like, you gotta talk about periods. - You gotta talk about periods. - I was like, totally. - It's like, I'll do this episode if you talk about periods. - Okay. - What can I say? - It's time for our final story. This comes from today I fucked up. This was posted in February of 2021. Today I fucked up by putting my head in a fish bowl before my daughter was born. They write, there's really not much backstory apart from the fact that my daughter was a breach baby and wouldn't turn. Due to various complications, we had opted for a planned C-section. The whole thing in general was just really bizarre. Like, you pick your kid's birthday just like that. Anyway, my wife and I tend to be goofy, fun-loving folk that are always up for a laugh. We do a lot of silly things together to make each other laugh. Though, as with most men, I tend to meander into the dumber territory more often as you will soon hear. On the day of the birth, just as we were about to leave for the hospital, I pick up this fish bowl style lampshade. I have a photo of it here. It's a fish bowl style lampshade. Oh, no, no, no. We put it up onto my head because we were boldly going where neither of us have gone before. I just saw it on my way to the door and didn't really think it through. So I immediately regretted this decision when my giant ears, my nose, and hair, I have down to my ass length hair that was in a loose bun. Ended up blocking my head in this thing and I couldn't get it off. We got it. We tried for a bit and my wife was understandably over it pretty quick because we were going to be late for our baby appointment. So I made the executive decision to not make the situation any more stressful than it should have been to late and to just drive to the hospital with this on my head and hope that someone at the hospital might have some idea what I should do. As you can imagine, the car ride is a real mixed bag of emotions for us all. We arrive. I do the walk of shame into the maternity ward with this bubble on my head. [LAUGHTER] I'm dying. Holding my wife's hand and there's this older nurse who greeted us and I could see her dinner plate eyes just screaming what the fuck. And my wife jokingly said, yep, I'm having his baby to which literally all the midwives in the maternity ward that could see us walk up the corridor and just started howling with laughter. And whoever was not visible poked their heads around the corner to see this fucking spectacle. My wife was then ushered into a room where they monitored the baby and her. A nurse who was this massive buff tattoo dude, by the way. So imagine that. Took me to another one of those inspection rooms and got the thing off with some sort of lube slash gel. Anyway, he's like, I got this place. Anyway, four hours later, we had a healthy baby and I got hazed by some of the older midwives. It was really good fun in the end. Wouldn't recommend, but it definitely beats any other birth story I've heard and broke the ice with most of the staff. PS, for those of you wondering how I got it on in the first place. Here's some handy dandy instructions in case you wanted to give it a go. Get the bun in first, then move downwards over the ears, then the nose, and then push down until the ears get into the rim. The bun will smoosh up inside and move downwards a bit and voila, you're a jackass. [LAUGHTER] Damn. I am dying. It was fully stuck. I would be in the car like, I can't believe we're walking in there. And he just turns around and he's like, oh, my God. Like, she's so, she's probably so overwhelmed about a C section. Yeah. She wants to get a C section. That's-- Do you guys know what that is? Can I-- Yes. Can I-- This is the wrong move, but can I tell you what popped into my head? Is if I was in his situation, I would have just, like, smashed my head against a wall. So I'd have been like, yeah, I've got to break it off. Then you wouldn't have knocked out. No, I'm protected by the blast. Last all up in your man's body. I would probably just cut my jugulars and die. What is wrong with you? You're just like, head off. Imagine to imagine. Imagine he didn't get it off like before the birth, and then his wife, like, gets down and he's like crying in the bowl, steams up and he, like, can't-- It all fogs up. He can't see. It's like mysterious. No, if we want to really Mr. Bean this on the drive there, a B flies and flies into the thing. He's just like, no! Or he actually gets, it fills with water and a goldfish. Like, no, those are the answers. That's where I thought this story was going. Yeah. SpongeBob in the tree, no? Yeah. But into this story, he should have been on a skateboard and rollin' 'til the end. Comments. Someone said, "Val, you're a jackass, best part." Someone said, "Please tell us you will be getting newborn photos "with the fishbowl involved somehow." Lastly, someone said, "You're going to be an urban legend "in that ward forever now." Oh, my God. Those midwives are probably so happy. To have a legendary story at a hospital that isn't depressing, isn't impressive. Yeah. And they probably really needed that laugh. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? What a tough job for him. Hey, he's kind of a hero. Hey, you know what? He's our legend. I don't know. It is such a tough job. But I feel like, what a joy. They get to see all these new babies. Like, all the nurses, I had like five nurses and they were so right when Cole was about to be born. They were going, like, "It's his birthday, birthday party, "and they brought out all these, like, "like, whatever those celebration things are like, "birthday party, birthday party." And I was like, "birthday party, birthday party." (laughter) And H had, like, music. Like, they were just, I don't know. They are the most incredible people in the entire world. Like, I don't know how they, I don't know how they do it. I don't. Hours. What time of day was it? 6, 20 in the morning. Woo! Early morning. Yeah, it was, it was 20. It's crazy. You had an 8-A.M. call time, though, that was two hours. (laughter) I got to read it. Sorry, it's like. (laughter) Fishable on that. (laughter) That would be awful. We had to give napkin a fake birthday. His, we gave him a birthday, 'cause we were lied to about what H, he actually was. So we don't know his actual birthday, so. Whoa. Based on how old he was, his birthday, we decided to make him an April fool's baby. Ah, fun. Because he's just. You guys are so goofy and silly. You're just so fucking silly. Hey, talk about you want to know who's silly's napkin. I don't know, I don't know who's silly. Hey, guy keeps me on my toes, you know what I mean? He keeps you on my toes, yeah. Probably because I said this couple was like a silly, like make, I was like, ugh. (laughter) Sorry. And then you hate it. Yeah. We try to make each other laugh. They're both the assholes. Yeah. We're a little. Everyone sucks here. We like to do a couple gags every day. (laughter) I can't. Well, that's all our stories. Oh my God. Oh. The gift of life. Yeah, truly. Yeah, no, I was thinking about like myself, honestly, silently, and like, the things that I'd probably put my parents through, and I'm like, damn. They really were very patient with me. What's the Roonscape password, Dad? You're not mining enough mithril. Yeah, exactly. In Roonscape. Thank you. Wow. That was so fun. That was fun. Thank you both for being here. Thank you for having us. And thank you for watching. And hey, we'll see you next Saturday. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. So, when are we gonna have that boner party? (laughter)