The situation when a person wakes up late and misses something - their plane flight, an important meeting or a date - is not uncommon in world culture. Especially at Christmas. Suffice it to say that this is the plot of perhaps the greatest Christmas movie of all time. Yes, we are talking about Home Alone, but in the story that we want to tell you today, everything is far from being so amusing.
In fact, not all Christmas tales actually have a happy ending, and that very special magic of Christmas sometimes, for some reason, does not work at all, and then family drama ensues, entitled relatives insult each other, and only Santa really knows how to deal with it all.
For example, quite recently, a post with this story from the user u/Age_Philosophy3776 appeared in the AITA Reddit community, and has gained more than 8.7K ups and almost 2K comments in a very short time. A story that Hollywood will someday make a movie on (if Netflix doesn't catch up with its series earlier), and for now we'll try to figure it out in more detail.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post is married to a man who was raised by his mom and three sisters and was a bit spoiled
Image credits: Lisa Fotios (not the actual image)
So, the author of the post has been married for several years, and her husband, as she herself says, is the only son in his family, where he was brought up by his mother and three sisters. It's no surprise, the Original Poster continues, that the man grew up quite spoiled - suffice it to say that in his family, he is commonly referred to as "the heir" and generally praised as if he were a crowned person.
Image credits: u/AGe_Philosophy3776
The relatives often used to blame the author for 'lack of respect' toward her husband
At first, the wife perceived all this as just cute eccentricities, especially since her husband's mother herself and his sisters called this attitude simply "showing love and appreciation." But then the in-laws began to blame her for "insufficient respect" towards her own spouse, and the husband himself periodically wanted something more than just a good attitude.
Image credits: u/AGe_Philosophy3776
The in-laws literally cut ties with the wife, though her spouse kept attending their gatherings
A series of quarrels followed with her husband's relatives - and it all ended with the fact that they actually cut ties with the OP and generally stopped inviting her to various family events. Considering that the author's husband continued to attend these gatherings, one can fully understand his wife's feelings. Anybody but the hubby himself... But what could she do in this situation?
Image credits: Jamie Street (not the actual image)
This Christmas the man decided to fly to visit his relatives, leaving his wife home alone
Everything changed at Christmas, when the OP's husband was going to fly to visit his relatives for another family gathering, leaving his wife at home. On the night before the flight, the man, as always, put his phone away (according to the OP, he does not like to sleep next to the electronics turned on), and it so happened that he overslept. By the way, his wife overslept too.
Image credits: u/AGe_Philosophy3776
The man overslept and missed his flight but then just blamed his wife for not waking him up early
The couple woke up quite late, the husband rushed headlong to the airport, trying to buy a ticket for another flight - but on Christmas day, this was completely unrealistic. Then the man returned home in a frustrated mood - and could not find anything better to do than throw a tantrum at his own wife for not waking him up early!
Image credits: u/AGe_Philosophy3776
All of OP's completely logical arguments that she was absolutely not obliged to do this, and indeed the husband did not even ask her to wake him up, were discarded. The man accused his wife of ruining his holiday, and later his mother and sisters joined him in those accusations. They called the OP 'petty and vicious', claiming that she supposedly did this deliberately to get back at them and to isolate him from his family.
Image credits: Daniel Kist (not the actual image)
However, people in the comments sided with the woman unanimously, dubbing her husband selfish and thoughtless
It just so happens that the only people who actually supported the Original Poster were the commenters who unanimously sided with her. According to people in the comments, she is not a human alarm clock for a guy in his mid-thirties. Commenters are also convinced that the husband treats the OP terribly, so he should maybe get two cards: one for a marriage counselor and the second for a divorce lawyer, and could pick who he'd like her to call.
Most commenters are convinced that a husband should celebrate Christmas with his wife, and not with his sisters and mom. If he wanted to see them for the holiday so desperately, then this was his own responsibility - not to sleep through the morning flight. According to people in the comments, the OP's husband is selfish for leaving her on Christmas and doesn't actually have a backbone to defend her to his relatives because he likes them fussing over him.
By the way, if you want some more weird Christmas stories, you can check out our post about the wife who got mad at her spouse for taking a nap on Christmas morning instead of spending time with her. Or, for example, about this 'guestzilla' who threw a real tantrum after finding a box of tampons in the bathroom of the Christmas party hosts. And of course, we're also looking forward to your comments on this particular tale.
Exhausted by family or in-law drama like this one? Visit our Family Dynamics Hub for expert-backed guides on toxic relatives, parenting styles, and personal boundaries.