Family can be a difficult thing to navigate, particularly when you are young.
One young woman found out how difficult the drama could be firsthand. After ingesting sewer water, the Original Poster’s (OP’s) mother had a very unique home remedy in mind.
Redditor ColaNova came to the “Am I the A**hole” (AITA) subreddit for their wisdom on the ordeal.
The OP wanted to know:
“AITA for telling the truth to my therapist?”
She started by setting the stage:
“I [17-Female] just might have landed my mom [38-Female] some legal trouble and I feel terrible for it.”
Then she laid out the fine points.
“Long story short I fell in a sewer yesterday and swallowed sewer water (by accident) and in order to avoid getting sick my mom gave me alcohol and I got very, VERY drunk.”
“Soon after my mom, dad [50-Male], my little sister R [15F], and little brother J [9M] all agreed that after dinner R & J would help me with the dishes while my dad would go out and get dessert.”
“But before my dad left I confronted my mom about how drunk I felt. I told her that it was hard for me to think straight and I felt wobbly as a bouncy ball. She dismissed me and told me to sit down.”
“Now at this point, R and J can tell I’m drunk and think it’s HILARIOUS and won’t stop laughing.”
“And it’s when I try to stand up again that I realize that my mom left along with my dad and I was left alone to take care of my little brother and (severely mentally and physically disabled) sister, all by myself, completely wasted.”
“I have no idea how to handle myself in this state of mind let alone 2 emboldened little kids teasing me. It took me several attempts just to get off the couch because I kept falling down so much.”
“I tried to clean the kitchen but I couldn’t get much done on account of trying to deal with my drunk ass and J and R’s teasing. Suffice to say this was a very difficult experience.”
“30 mins later my parents arrived home and went upstairs. At this point, I’m starting to sober up a bit and the first thing I do is start sobbing. How could my mom just leave me like that?”
“She expected me not only to deal with that on my own but to also be in charge of 2 minors while doing so. I felt so betrayed and alone.”
“My mom hears me sobbing and I come up to talk to her and tell her why I’m crying. She was immediately remorseful (but at first dismissive).”
However not both parents were sympathetic.
“But then my dad comes out of his room and tells me I’m ‘overreacting’ and ‘not drunk but just hamming it up’ and sends me to bed.”
“My mom woke me up this morning and we were actually able to talk things out. I told her how bad that made me feel and she just listened to me and took full responsibility for it.”
“However, just a few hours ago I had a therapy appointment and I thought it was appropriate to bring this up as I often feel like I am given responsibility I have no idea how to handle.”
“But therapists are mandated reporters and what I told her, she thought, were grounds for child neglect.”
“She reported the incident to CPS.”
“I feel terrible that it went that far and my mom felt terrible for letting the incident happen in the first place. But my dad thinks I have completely overblown this situation.”
“He is blaming me for the possible legal damages I could be causing my mom. He even wants me to call back my therapist and tell her that I was lying!!!!!”
“I think I might be the a**hole for putting my mom in legal jeopardy, but at the same time I don’t think I’m fully responsible for this.”
Redditors were asked to rule:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors decided the OP was NTA.
“NTA. What they did was incredibly irresponsible. Part of life is facing consequences for your mistakes, even when you have taken responsibility for them.”
“You were in danger and so were your siblings. This is how the system is set up, to protect children. The fact that this is happening means the system is working.”
“If this is a stand-alone incident, then your mum will get a slap on the wrist and nothing more. If similar things happen a lot, then you’ll be kept safe.” ~Pixels4524
“My parents just sprayed Chloraseptic in my throat.” ~ danni_shadow
There were plenty of messages of compassion.
“NTA, fundamentally you were upset because your mum put you and your siblings at risk, and you very appropriately told the person who is in a position not just to help you process that but also to make sure it won’t happen again.”
“You did not overreact and neither did your therapist.”
“Could you have safely handled eg your sister having a seizure and needing rescue medication during that time? (If she has epilepsy – or read in ditto bad asthma attack or similar.)”
“An incident in the house? It didn’t feel safe because it wasn’t safe, and your instincts were absolutely right.” ~RafRafRafRaf
Some were even stunned by the absurdity of it.
“I thought I was reading a raisedbynarcissists until I got to the end here… NTA and don’t feel bad they’re going to receive repercussions for their (in)actions.” ~singlefilee
In the end, it seems not every problem can be solved by alcohol.
Hopefully, OP’s parents will take that lesson to heart going forward.