A mother had spent hours crafting a charcuterie board for Thanksgiving, and she had given her teenage son clear instructions to stay away from the meat and cheese. When the son refused to comply with her explicit instruction, the mother issued an ultimatum. An anonymous female contributor shared her story on the “AITA” subreddit at the end of November 2023. She gave a succinct account of the family custom of having a charcuterie board every year at 6 p.m. before the Thanksgiving feast as a pre-dinner snack to stave off hunger. Her 16-year-old son, who loves cheese to pieces, made her label things he wasn’t supposed to eat. She tried to label everything as reserved for Thanksgiving, but something went wrong.
The original poster described how her son went and ate all the expensive meat slices and cheese blocks she had bought for the charcuterie board the day before she shared the story on Reddit. She was really offended by this, especially since she had put in extra hours of work to pay for these things given the present high cost of good cheese. For such a small matter, OP’s kid felt his mother was being harsh in forcing him to forgo Thanksgiving.OP sent her kid a warning after expressing her displeasure. “I told [my son] he needs to go to the store to replace all of it which would cost him around 70 dollars (one of the cheeses he ate was 18 dollars) or he doesn’t get to eat Thanksgiving meal [sic],” said OP.
But even with his noncompliance, OP’s kid had no intention of paying for the meat and cheese he had consumed. The woman told him he was more than welcome to have a sandwich and keep his hands and eyes off the Thanksgiving dinner, citing his straightforward refusal. For such a small matter, OP’s kid felt his mother was being harsh in forcing him to forgo Thanksgiving. It’s interesting to note that his father supported him in taking this stand. “My spouse is on his side,” the angry woman remarked of her husband, who failed to comprehend her anger.
After her son made the obvious decision not to eat Thanksgiving, OP wondered, “AITA for telling my son he will pay back for the cheese/meat or he won’t be eating [Thanksgiving] tomorrow?” Her husband’s lack of support in the situation furthers to her confusion. The woman gave an update on her story after coming to a solid choice. Thanking her, she disclosed that she had told her mother-in-law about the situation, and her MIL had kindly promised to deliver a delicious cheese platter if her son refused to make amends.
Numerous commenters expressed their opinion that her kid should have understood the consequences of his noncompliance since he was mature enough to understand the instructions he had been given.Unfazed, the mother gave her son one last ultimatum: pay for the food that was eaten, skip Thanksgiving, or put in eleven hours of work to pay for it—a solution that she liked that someone on Reddit suggested. Doubting that he would select any of these options, she accepted the possibility that there might be no Thanksgiving. She was
Online, the woman’s account garnered a tonne of support, with most Redditors labeling her as “NTA.” Numerous commenters expressed their opinion that her kid should have understood the consequences of his noncompliance, since he was mature enough to understand the instructions he had been given.
A number of commenters chastised the woman’s husband, claiming he made a mistake by not encouraging her to discipline their son. Some agreed with the woman’s approach to teaching her kid a lesson, saying that at his age, he should definitely know that everything he does has an impact.