{"id":84126,"date":"2024-10-08T15:47:58","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T08:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/?p=84126"},"modified":"2024-10-08T16:01:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T09:01:45","slug":"my-dad-ignores-us-and-treats-mom-like-a-servant-so-my-brother-and-i-taught-him-a-valuable-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/my-dad-ignores-us-and-treats-mom-like-a-servant-so-my-brother-and-i-taught-him-a-valuable-lesson\/","title":{"rendered":"My Dad Ignores Us and Treats Mom Like a Servant \u2014 So My Brother and I Taught Him a Valuable Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In our household, Dad acted like a king, completely absorbed in his\u00a0work, while Mom was more like a servant, handling everything else. Josh and I, as the kids, felt almost invisible. That is, until we decided to shake things up and make Dad realize what was really happening.\n</p><p><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/cdn.amomama.com%5C/ed105a4ba892628b8740fe6ed6bcaba1b7b3c7fb72345296699adb63a5d02d5e.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"My' busy dad never spends time with us and treats mom iike a servant my brother i taught him lesson title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>Have you ever felt like you\u2019re invisible at home? Like the person who\u2019s supposed to be your role model barely acknowledges you? That\u2019s been my life for as long as I can remember. I\u2019m Irene, and this is the story of how my brother Josh and I taught our workaholic dad a lesson he didn\u2019t see coming.\n</p><p>The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard\n</p><p>It was just another Tuesday night. I sat at the kitchen table, struggling with my math homework, while Josh lounged on the living room floor, engrossed in his comic book. As the clock crept toward 6 p.m., Dad walked in, right on schedule.\n</p><p>He looked the same as always\u2014briefcase in hand, tie loosened, barely giving us a glance. \u201cHey,\u201d he muttered without making eye contact, then immediately shouted, \u201cMariam! Where\u2019s my dinner?\u201d\n</p><p>Mom rushed out of the laundry room, balancing a basket of clothes. \u201cJust finishing the laundry, Carl. Dinner\u2019s almost done,\u201d she said, clearly worn out.\n</p><p>Dad grumbled, kicked off his shoes, and headed straight for the PlayStation. Soon, the room was filled with the roar of racing cars, drowning out everything else. No \u201cHow was your day?\u201d or \u201cHow are the kids?\u201d\u2014just him and his game.\n</p><p><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"aligncenter\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/imgix.bustle.com%5C/scary-mommy%5C/2021%5C/02%5C/men-not-helping-out-chores-1.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=675&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;fm=jpg%5C%22" alt='\"American' moms are on the brink because american dads slacking title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>Josh rolled his eyes and exchanged a look with me. I nodded back. This was our routine, but it didn\u2019t make it any less painful.\n</p><p>\u201cTen minutes, Carl!\u201d Mom called again, but he didn\u2019t bother responding\u2014too engrossed in his game.\n</p><p>I sighed and returned to my homework. This was life in the Thompson household: Dad, the king; Mom, the servant; and Josh and me, the invisible kids.\n</p><p>Things got even worse the next day. I was setting the table when I heard Dad complain again. \u201cMariam, why are these magazines so dusty? Do you ever clean around here?\u201d\n</p><p>I peeked around the corner and saw him holding up one of his car magazines, frowning like it was the biggest problem in the world. Mom stood there, looking exhausted.\n</p><p>\u201cCarl, I\u2019ve been working all day and\u2014\u201d\n</p><p>\u201cWorking?\u201d Dad cut her off, scoffing. \u201cI work too, but I still expect to come home to a clean house.\u201d\n</p><p>That was it. My blood boiled. Mom worked just as hard as he did\u2014plus, she ran the house, cooked, and raised us. Dad? He worked, ate, played video games, and went to bed. And now he was complaining?\n</p><p>\u201cWe need to do something,\u201d I told Josh that night in the kitchen.\n</p><p>\u201cAbout what?\u201d he asked, grabbing a snack.\n</p><p>\u201cAbout Dad. He treats Mom like she\u2019s invisible and ignores us. It\u2019s time he understands what that feels like.\u201d\n</p><p>Josh\u2019s face lit up. \u201cI\u2019m in. What\u2019s the plan?\u201d\n</p><p>We crafted a plan quickly, knowing we had to act fast. It was time for Dad to experience his own behavior. The next day, we convinced Mom to take a well-earned spa day, even though she was reluctant at first.\n</p><p>By 6 p.m., Josh and I were ready. We raided Dad\u2019s closet, dressing in his oversized shirts and ties. The clothes hung off us, but that only added to the humor.\n</p><p>\u201cReady?\u201d I asked as we heard Dad\u2019s car pull in.\n</p><p>Josh nodded, adjusting his way-too-big tie. \u201cLet\u2019s do this.\u201d\n</p><p>We took our positions\u2014Josh with a magazine on the couch, and me by the door. My heart raced as Dad unlocked the door and stepped in.\n</p><p>He stopped, eyes wide, taking in the sight of us dressed in his clothes. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on here?\u201d he asked, confused.\n</p><p>\u201cI need my dinner,\u201d I mimicked his demanding tone.\n</p><p>Josh didn\u2019t even glance up. \u201cAnd don\u2019t forget to clean the PlayStation when you\u2019re done.\u201d\n</p><p>Dad\u2019s eyebrows shot up in shock. \u201cWhat are you two doing?\u201d\n</p><p>I waved him off. \u201cI\u2019m busy. Don\u2019t bother me with questions.\u201d\n</p><p>\u201cYeah,\u201d Josh added. \u201cAsk Mom. Isn\u2019t that what you always do?\u201d\n</p><p>Dad stood there, completely stunned, as Josh and I stayed in\u00a0character. I grabbed the PlayStation controller and started playing, while Josh flipped through the magazine.\n</p><p>\u201cSeriously, what is this?\u201d Dad\u2019s frustration started to show.\n</p><p>I gave him a sarcastic look. \u201cOh, were you talking to me? I\u2019m kinda busy here.\u201d\n</p><p>\u201cJust like you always are,\u201d Josh added.\n</p><p>A long pause followed. You could see the realization hit Dad as he looked at us. His face softened, and his voice dropped. \u201cIs this really how you see me?\u201d\n</p><p>I sighed, dropping the act. \u201cYes, Dad. This is exactly how you treat us and Mom. You\u2019re always too busy for us, and you treat Mom like she\u2019s just here to serve you.\u201d\n</p><p>Josh chimed in, \u201cShe works as hard as you, plus does everything at home. All you do is complain.\u201d\n</p><p>Dad\u2019s shoulders slumped with guilt. Before he could speak, Mom walked in, her eyes wide at the scene.\n</p><p><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"aligncenter\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/cdn.amomama.com%5C/3833eeb72f199b7c784340fe4ef21972dff2bed65280ab040741122c664d0275.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"My' busy dad never spends time with us and treats mom iike a servant my brother i taught him lesson title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d she asked, looking between Dad and us.\n</p><p>Dad turned to her, tears in his eyes. \u201cI think I\u2019ve been a terrible husband and father. I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d\n</p><p>Without another word, he headed into the kitchen. We watched, stunned, as he started pulling out pots and pans. \u201cMaking dinner! Flatbread, anyone?\u201d he called.\n</p><p>We sat at the table in disbelief. Dad served us dinner and apologized with every scoop.\n</p><p>\u201cI\u2019ve neglected you all, and I see that now,\u201d he said, his voice sincere. \u201cI\u2019ll do better. I promise.\u201d\n</p><p>As we ate, Dad asked about school and our day\u2014things he hadn\u2019t done in years. It felt strange, but good.\n</p><p>Josh and I exchanged glances, still surprised that our plan had worked.\n</p><p>After dinner, Dad smiled at us\u2014really smiled. \u201cThank you,\u201d he said. \u201cFor waking me up. I needed that.\u201d\n</p><p>\u201cWe\u2019re just glad you listened,\u201d I said, feeling a warmth in my chest that I hadn\u2019t felt in a long time.\n</p><p>Josh grinned. \u201cAnd now that you\u2019re paying attention, how about joining us for some PlayStation?\u201d\n</p><p>Dad laughed\u2014a sound I realized I had missed. \u201cDeal. But first, let\u2019s clean up. Together.\u201d\n</p><p>As we cleaned up, it felt like something had shifted. For the first time in years, we weren\u2019t just going through the motions. We were a\u00a0family\u00a0again. It wouldn\u2019t be perfect overnight, but it was a start. And that was enough.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><p>In our household, Dad acted like a king, completely absorbed in his\u00a0work, while Mom was more like a servant, handling everything else. Josh and I, as the kids, felt almost invisible. That is, until we decided to shake things up and make Dad realize what was really happening. Have you ever felt like you\u2019re invisible &hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":84129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[657],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-love-and-relationships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84126"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84130,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84126\/revisions\/84130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p>