This grandpa recently took to Reddit to ask for opinions after he told his son he’s not proud of him. This is the full story.
They Had a Child When They Were Young
OP and his wife got pregnant when they were just 20 years old. Neither was planning on a baby just then, but they welcomed their son with open arms.
Life wasn’t easy for the young family, but they all loved each other, and OP and his wife raised their son to work hard and treat others with kindness and respect.
All their efforts paid off when the son was able to attend an elite university and then began a promising and lucrative career.
The Child Grew and Married
The son also fell in love and got married, and the young couple had a daughter of their own. OP and his wife loved their daughter-in-law and adored their granddaughter.
Then, tragedy struck when their son’s young wife died in a car accident when the little girl was just two years old
Grief-stricken but still hopeful for the future, OP’s son gathered up the pieces of his life and went on with raising his daughter. Then, when she was four years old, he married his second wife.
A Single Father
That would have been great, as the new wife was a wonderful lady, too. Except the son decided he didn’t have time or space in his life to take his daughter with him.
So OP and his wife took in the little girl and have been raising her ever since. Their son visits once every couple of months or so.
The Daughter Is Left to the Grandparents
He doesn’t spend much time with her while he’s at his parent’s house, but he does bring her gifts. They are some of her most precious possessions, and the little girl always talks about them and her dad.
The little girl is growing fast. She’s 11 years old now. But, even though she doesn’t see him very often, she idolizes her dad and talks about him all the time. She makes drawings and cards for him and even bakes him special treats.
It was the little girl’s birthday recently, and she waited all day for her dad to call. He never did.
He Dad Is Not Reliable
His new wife and his parents made excuses for him, saying phone lines were down and that he did try to call. They tried to smooth it over, but his daughter was still devastated.
Then OP’s son got a big promotion and threw himself an even bigger party. His daughter was away at summer camp that week, but his parents came to celebrate with their son.
During one lull in the action, the son pulled his dad aside and told him how much more money he would be making and how much prestige his new position carried.
He told OP he should be proud because his son had graduated from a fancy school and now had a bigshot career.
He Told Him He Couldn’t Be Proud
Instead of feeding his ego, OP hit his son with an emotional gut punch. He told him that he was not proud of how he was treating his daughter, and he hadn’t been proud of him in a long time.
OP’s son was shocked and told his mother what his father had said when she joined the conversation. OP’s wife agreed with him and told her son that he was neglecting his daughter.
The young man was hurt and told other members of the family what his parents had said to him. Most of them thought OP and his wife were wrong for saying they weren’t proud of their son. That’s a tough blow to take at any age.
Now OP is concerned that he may have ruined his relationship with his son. Worse, he may have pushed his son even farther away from his young daughter.
Was He Being Too Harsh?
Most Redditors don’t blame OP for trying to give his son some perspective about what’s most important in life.
Some think that telling his son he wasn’t proud of him was harsh, but even they agree that the young man had it coming.
Others think maybe OP and his wife could do more to try and get their son and granddaughter into family counseling.
What do you think of this story? Was it OK for OP to tell his son that he’s not proud of him because of the way he’s treating his daughter?
Or should he have found a better time, place, and way to let his son know what he was feeling?
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The post He Told His Son He Can’t Be Proud of Him After He Abandoned His Granddaughter first appeared on Wealthy Living
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Koldunov. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit