She Immediately Donated A Dozen Brand-New Toys That Her Estranged Stepmother Sent To Her Kids And Got Called Cruel

Little girl lying in the mess of toys. Top view, flat lay.
lithiumphoto - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual child - pictured above is a child in a pile of toys

This 34-year-old woman cut her stepmother, Mary, out of her life five years ago. According to her, Mary was horrible to her throughout her childhood.

“Because I refused to pretend Mary was my mother,” she recalled.

“I’ve been in therapy for years, and it’s still hard to talk about how she treated me.”

Given their estranged relationship, Mary hasn’t seen her 8-year-old son since he was 3. Plus, Mary has never met her daughter, who is 4 years old.

Over the past few years, her stepmother has attempted to contact both her and her kids on multiple occasions. Sometimes, her father even tries to help Mary get in touch with them.

He’d claim that Mary felt awful and really wanted to meet her daughter. Additionally, her father believed that her children needed their grandmother.

“I’ve never considered her a grandparent, as both my mother and mother-in-law are active in their lives,” she noted.

Anyway, after her father’s insistence sparked many arguments between them, he finally apologized, backed off, and quit assisting Mary. Nonetheless, her stepmother has continued reaching out, and she has no interest in talking to Mary or allowing Mary to be part of her kids’ lives.

So, when her son’s birthday rolled around in September, she was shocked when a large package was delivered to her home. Upon opening it, she found around a dozen brand-new toys inside, addressed to her children. The package also had a note that read, “Grandma Mary loves you both.”

Little girl lying in the mess of toys. Top view, flat lay.

lithiumphoto – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual child – pictured above is a child in a pile of toys

While some people might think what Mary did was kind, she could only view it as a manipulation tactic.

“My children are barely aware that Mary exists. Why would she send them both a box full of toys on my son’s birthday?” she asked.

“I also think she planned the delivery for a time she thought the kids would be home so that they’d see the toys immediately.”

However, neither her son nor her daughter were there when the toys arrived, so she and her husband decided to donate them all throughout the month of October. Their children still have no clue about them.

The only issue is that her father called her last week and said Mary wanted to know if her kids liked the toys. At that point, she decided to tell him the truth about donating them, and it caused another fight.

Her father accused her of being cruel and ungrateful. Then, he pointed out how, even though she and Mary don’t get along, her stepmother still spent hundreds of dollars on a “loving gesture” for her kids.

So, he thought the least she could do was tell her children about the gifts.

“I honestly couldn’t imagine keeping those toys, but I’d be lying if I said the amount of money spent on them didn’t make me feel guilty,” she admitted.

Now, she’s questioning whether immediately donating the toys was actually the wrong thing to do.

How would you have reacted to the package of toys showing up on your doorstep? Did she have a right to donate them, or should she have given them to her kids? 

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