If your mom was being cruel to you only when your dad wasn’t around to witness it, would you take matters into your own hands and record her in secret to gather the evidence?
This 17-year-old girl’s mom has two entirely different personalities living inside of her. When her dad is at home, her mom is totally normal, rational, and cool as a cucumber.
As soon as her dad isn’t around, a switch flips, and her mom morphs into a person she honestly doesn’t recognize. Her mom will criticize every tiny thing she says and does. Her mom hurls insults at her, calls her ungrateful, and says she doesn’t know why she even bothers with her.
“One time, she told me she wished she had stopped at my older brother. Stuff like that. Whenever I would tell my dad, he would get this look on his face like he felt bad, but did not fully believe me,” she explained.
“Not in a mean way, more like he just could not picture it because he had never seen it. My brother is older and out of the house, so it is just me most of the time.”
“He would talk to her, and she would deny it and then be even colder to me for a few days after. This went on for about two years.”
A couple of months ago, she decided to start secretly recording her mom on her phone whenever she thought she was about to go nuts.
She captured four or five audio clips of her mom saying she ruins their mood at home, reminding her of a mistake she made years ago that had nothing to do with anything, and talking about how she should kick her out of the house, even though it would make her homeless.
Last month, she finally got alone time with her dad in the car, and he mentioned how detached and reserved she had been, before questioning her about whether she was alright.
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She passed her phone to her dad, pressed the play button, and let the secret recordings of her mom rip. Her dad was silent long after the evidence had been played for him to hear.
That evening, her dad and mom had a private chat behind closed doors, and it was the longest they’ve ever spoken to one another. The very next day, her mom couldn’t bear to look in her direction.
“She has been civil since then, but there is this cold energy that did not used to be there, or maybe it was always there, and now nobody is pretending it is not. My dad apologized to me for not believing me sooner. That meant a lot,” she added.
“But now my aunt knows, my mom told her, and my aunt called me and said what I did was a serious betrayal of trust and that every mother loses her patience sometimes, and I had no right to record private moments in my own home and use them like evidence against my own parent.”
“Maybe she has a point. I did not tell anyone I was recording. I did it because I felt like I had no other option, but I understand why it feels like a violation. I genuinely do not know how to feel about it now that the dust is settling.”
I’m proud of her for standing up for herself, and proud of her dad for finally believing her and doing something about it. She did what she had to in order to protect herself from her mom, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
She should send all of the recordings to her aunt and see what she has to say afterward. I hope she can move out of her house soon, because her mom is truly one ugly, horrific person, and she shouldn’t have to be subjected to a parent like that.
From now on, if her mom comes anywhere near her, she should pick up her phone, hit record, and make it crystal clear she’s done dealing with her.
What do you think?
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By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
