68-year-old mother extends her stay at 38-year-old daughter's home without permission, daughter loses it: 'I want my house back!'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Dec 31, 2024 2:00 PM EST

The fallout that comes after the holidays is always challenging, especially after spending time with difficult family members. Not only do you need to get yourself back into a routine before returning to work, but you also often need some space to recharge and recenter yourself after having virtually no time to yourself during the week of Christmas.

Don't get me wrong, it's lovely to spend the holidays with your parents as a fully grown adult. Sometimes, you get to revert back to being a kid for a few days, but that comes with its disadvantages as well. Now that you are a fully grown adult yourself, it's nearly impossible to ignore all the ways in which your parents' way of life is unhealthy, ridiculous, or just straight-up aggravating. 

Here, we have a 38-year-old woman who just hosted her mother for the week of Christmas at her place, since she lived closer to where the whole family gathered for the holiday. However, after the mother's basement flooded, the 68-year-old woman wanted to extend her stay for the following week. In theory, this is justified and understandable, but we trust the Redditor that her needy mother was using potentially minor damage as an excuse to stick around.

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for some commentary from yours truly. For more stories like this, take a look at this post about an employee's revenge on her lunch-thieving coworker.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10447690752
    via Unsplash+ (Kateryna Hliznitsova)
  • 02
    AITAH for not allowing my mom to stay another week after her pipes burst just before Christmas?
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 03
    38/F I am celebrating Christmas with my mom 68/F, my brother 47/M and his family. My mom flew in from out of state and we are driving to a meetup location to spend time with my brother's family - a place in the mountains we all enjoy just for the holidays.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 04
    All of us live hours away, our mom being the furthest, on the opposite coast. My brother and I are several hours away by car.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 05
    This year, we received the bad news that, while my mom has been at my place, her pipes froze and flooded her basement. She is upset, understandably, I helped her get everything started and have her insurance, a cleanup
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 06
    team and a general contractor all working on her place while she is with me. She then broached the topic that she wanted to extended her week stay to "two weeks or more". I said no, I need
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 07
    to get back to my regular routine and get ready to return to work. She's welcome to stay here as originally planned, which is until Saturday.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272

  • Of course, we are sympathetic to the fact that this woman is clearly lonely, but there's only so much her kids can do to keep her company and handle her nonsense when they have responsibilities of their own.

  • 08
    Then she said she may ask to ride back with my brother and his family to their home in another state (opposite direction than me). She refused to ask him until Christmas, so I gave my brother a heads up last night so he has a chance to speak with his wife. I
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 09
    also told him that he's under no obligation to say yes, as she is still welcome to stay with me until Saturday and her insurance company will be footing the bill for most of her stay at a hotel and meals (IF, BIG IF, her residence is uninhabitable, which we do not know at this time).
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 10
    He told me he didn't have room to take her back with him (3 people in his car and no room for a 4th -assuming luggage is the issue). That I should let her stay with me because she's lonely. I
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 11
    told him I understood that, but I'm not wrong for wanting to cap my time with her at the one week originally planned. He had left that text on "send". My mom can be a challenging personality and
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 12
    with this unfortunate development, she's even more... difficult. I love my mom, but I'm tired. I want my house back and don't want to be criticized or complained at. I refused to allow
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 13
    my lonely mother to extend her stay with me, despite the recent damages to and unknown state of her home. AITAH for prioritizing my space and personal downtime over my mother's emotional needs?
    via ThrowRAGuava6272

  • Now, for some comments from folks who have hot takes based on their own similar experiences!

  • 14
    coldgator NAH but this is tough. It's not like you owe her a place to stay especially when insurance will pay, but I don't think I could tell my mom to go stay at a hotel during the holidays.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 15
    elsie78 NTA. Doesn't she need to get back home to deal with her home and belongings?
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 16
    HunterGreenLe... NAH - I can understand your hesitation where there isn't an end date and she has a "difficult personality". At the same time, if it can be made more time limited, it would be kind to have some flexibility. I can understand her not wanting to be alone.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 17
    mildfeelingofdi... NAH, but I think you should take this one on the chin, because if you want to keep talking to your mum, you will probably never hear the end of this otherwise. It's a lightning strike situation,
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 18
    there's a good reason she can't just go back to her home that is unlikely to ever occur again.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 19
    Suitable_Doubt... NTA, your brother also doesn't want to bring her to his home. He has plenty of room in his car.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272
  • 20
    bkwormtricia . Since insurance will pay to put her up in a hotel, NTA.
    via ThrowRAGuava6272

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christmas family drama aita entitled parents AITAH mother merry christmas entitled family reddit thread Reddit
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