Emily Duprie
Writing the title for this post was so painful. Also, hilarious. A recent Redditor came to the AITA? subreddit to find out if he was “the A-hole for missing his daughters birth?” Is that a rhetorical question? Not for OP. As absurd as the question was, below you can find a little bit of context, and how our OP crumbled under pressure.
Being at your child’s birth is something every good husband and father should do. Not only is it your child, but it’s extremely important to be present for the mother of your kid, as birth is an extremely painful and traumatic experience. Working for your scary Italian father as Head Chef at his restaurant probably comes with a lot of pressure, but continuing your shift out of fear when you know your wife is in labor is non bene.
Read the full story in context below, along with some top comments.
OP asked: “AITA for missing my daughters birth?”
For a little background information I (28M) have a beautiful wife (27F) we’ve been trying for a baby for about 3 years now and have known each other since we were in high school. When my wife found out she was pregnant we were thrilled and have been getting prepared for months now, shes (9 months pregnant).
My dad is a real a$$hole, but he keeps me employed. He owns a pretty nice Italian restaurant that has been run by my family for decades. I’ve worked there since i was about 15 and I am now head chef. The problem is he treats his employees pretty bad (including me) and if you even miss one shift you get demoted or even worse fired.
I was in the middle of a very hectic shift on the busiest day of the week when my MIL called saying my wife went into labor and I needed to get to the hospital right away. When I asked my dad if I could go he said “You can go if your ok with being unemployed” which I couldn’t risk because after the baby was born my wife would be off work for quite a while to be a stay at home mom. The reason my dad was so mad at the idea of me leaving was because he was understaffed and really needed my help.
When I tried calling my MIL she wouldn’t pick up so I just kept working and that I thought could explain myself later. Later when it was time to go home I drove to the hospital but MIL and her sisters refused to let me in the room and called me names like “a bad father and a bad husband”. When it was finally time to leave the hospital my wife and new born baby went home with MIL and they haven’t spoken to me in days even when I try and apologize and explain myself.
I thought I was doing the right thing but I need to know, AITA?
TL;DR My dad owns a popular business and needs staff. I am head chef so I need to work all the time. My wife went into labor and I missed the birth because of my dad.
Redditors had quite the mouthful for this irresponsible user, and spared no opinion on why he was most definitely an “A-hole.” What would your reaction be?
