Mother's Day is supposed to be day where people honor and celebrate the women who brought them into this world, the women who raised them, and the women who put up with everything. But things don't always work out the way their supposed to, and the annual celebration of the moms of the world often goes off the rails. And it usually starts at the beginning of the day with a terribly offensive or unwanted gift or not git entirely.
The moms in the following stories know that feeling all too well as they recently shared in a series of rants on Reddit. Over the course of numerous conversations, these not so thrilled mothers vented about the ways their sons, daughters, and husbands treated them on their special day. All posts have been edited for clarity.
For Mother’s Day, She Got Stress
“This was my third Mother’s Day, and like every other Mother’s Day, I hadn’t gotten a gift. This particular Mother’s Day took the cake, though.
My second child is allergic to everything. He is allergic to so many things that I had to become a stay-at-home-mom because no daycare would take him. Not that I could afford them here anyway; it’s $2,000 a month for both of my kids. I was pregnant when we moved here, so I hadn’t been able to make any friends since we arrived and that had taken a toll on my mental state. I was planning to be nice to myself that day and buy some planters and some seeds to start a small patio garden.
My husband was in the Navy and was on detachment to the other side of the country for pre-deployment workups. Right after he left, I found out he cheated on me during his last detachment with a Backpage girl. The night before Mother’s Day, he went to a casino with his squadron and spent all of our money. We had a negative balance in our account until the next Friday.
I felt like the most under-appreciated person in the world.”
All Her Kids (And Their Dad) Teamed Up To Make Her Whole Day Terrible
“I think this year is a Mother’s Day low point for me.
My 16-year-old brought me roses that he swiped off the neighbor’s bushes, so I had to march his butt over there to apologize and we both wound up mowing their lawn to keep the peace.
My 5-year-old decided to give herself a haircut with safety scissors. It looked like she had a fight with a weed whacker and the weed whacker won. To ‘hide’ the fact she had cut her hair from me, she stuffed all the strands of hair into the sink, which is now clogged.
My almost 3-year-old twins made me a lovely picture, on my office wall, in Sharpie.
My ex-husband called me and chewed me out for not buying his mother a gift (I took care of it when we were married because he’s a man-child). I did take deep pleasure in inviting him to jump up his own butt and die.
All four have been freaking out all day because they know I’m unhappy. Next year, I don’t want them to make any special effort because none of them are old enough to buy me a drink if it goes this badly again.”
A Gift So Bad It Became Legendary
“My mom (and her two brothers) was raised Catholic by my grandparents. Well, when one uncle was around 14 or 15 years old, he started learning about Buddhism in school and really liked everything about it. However, again, my grandparents were Catholics who went to church every Sunday and raised their three kids as such.
Anyway, it was either Mother’s Day and my uncle who really got into Buddhism decided he had the best present for my grandmother…a Buddha statue. First off, this was a pretty large statue, and they didn’t exactly live in a big house. Second off, it’s a Buddha statue.
The night before, my uncle walked into my mom’s room and asked if she could help him wrap his gift. She walked in and nearly lost it when she saw that it was a Buddha statue. She couldn’t control herself, but agreed to help him just to see my grandmother’s reaction.
Apparently, my grandmother’s face was not what my uncle expected. It’s still talked about all the time 40 years later at family gatherings.”
He Got Her Exactly What She Didn’t Want, Then Threatened Her Over It
“My abusive (now ex) husband knew I had a ‘wish list’ at the jewelry store since it was an annual tradition in our marriage and I’d done it at his request.
I did not have a Rolex watch on the list, I had an Ebel watch on that list.
Apparently, my husband never heard of Ebel and thought that none of my family would have ever heard of Ebel. So he got me a Rolex.
Here’s the worst part. He gave me the watch before my family came to the house for the Mother’s Day celebration. I told him, ‘Thanks. But to be honest, I hate Rolex because if you don’t wear them constantly, they don’t keep time (because of the self-winding they’re famous for.) Would you mind if I exchanged it for the Ebel? I really love the Ebel. It’s cheaper and prettier. I love it and frankly, this Rolex is a lot of hype.’
He said no. He demanded I pretend to be delighted and surprised when he gave me to watch in front of my family.
When I resisted that notion, he said, ‘Yes. You will do this for me. I need to show your family what a rich man I’ve become. If you do this for me, you can keep the Rolex AND I’ll get you the Ebel. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it because I will make this the worst Mother’s Day of your entire life.'”
“It Was By Far The Worst Mother’s Day”
“My worst Mother’s Day was the year I found my grandmother dead in her bed. My family and I were making our visits to our grandma’s house after church but we couldn’t get into her house. We were banging and banging and she wasn’t answering. We were confused because her car was in her parking spot but she wasn’t answering our phone calls or anything. I remember having a bad feeling.
We broke into her house and found her in her bed. Rigor mortis had already set in so she had probably passed away in her sleep. This was super traumatizing but honestly not that surprising because it’s something my grandmother would just do.
She had to pass away on Mother’s Day of all days.
It was by far the worst Mother’s Day.”
Her Mother Never Forgot
“In Australia, Mother’s Day is coming up and I am absolutely dreading it. I’m so anxious about it, I can’t sleep and feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
In 2016, my sister and I took our mom out for lunch to a nice restaurant down by the beach. She complained about everything – apparently, the seats weren’t comfortable enough, she hated the live music and went on a screaming rampage because they didn’t have her favorite bottle of red. She made a huge scene in the restaurant repeatedly screaming, ‘THIS ISN’T WHAT I WANTED,’ and ‘HOW COULD YOU GUYS DO THIS TO ME ON MY DAY?’ It was completely unnecessary and embarrassing. On top of all that, she also made the waitress burst into tears.
Last year, I was unemployed at the time due to moving to a new state and studying full time. I was getting a student allowance from the government every fortnight, but could barely support myself. I definitely could not afford a present, the kind of things my mother wants are expensive gifts from stores like Pandora or Tiffany & Co. I could only afford to send her a nice card in the mail, so I figured I could just get her something nice when I’m financially better off.
Big mistake.
I called her on the day to wish her a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ and apologized about not being there, and well, she didn’t care about that. All she cared about was a present. She verbally abused me for not getting her anything and told me I have completely ruined the day for her. She then went and told my entire family that she was “so shocked, hurt and embarrassed” and couldn’t believe her daughter was being so inconsiderate on ‘her’ day.
A few months later, it was my birthday and she told me not to fly back home, she didn’t call me at all on the day and didn’t even send me a card in the mail.”
At The End Of The Day, All She Wanted To Do Was Lay On The Couch
“Mother’s Day was a disaster. I was supposed to work from 2:30 to 9:30 p.m., with an hour of traveling time. That meant I had to leave the house at 1:10. to be sure since I travel with public transportation. There was this huge cycling event going on in our city, going across multiple cities and back. Now, I knew busses wouldn’t be riding from 2 until 7 and I had taken this into account, so I should have been fine.
Now here’s the catch. What I did not know was that my bus stop was canceled. Though I had looked online the day prior to Mother’s Day and a few hours before actually having to leave. There was no mention of this. So I ran off to the station, all the way up the stairs, only for the train to start riding away just as I got up there. I waited 20 minutes for the next train. I was talking to myself, ‘Relax, you got this, it’s fine.’ This lady who barely spoke our language came and sat right next to me. Now, I am no skinny girl and have been trying to lose weight for a while. I’ve lost 10 pounds in the past eight months, so I thought I was on a good track. Until this lady asked if I was expecting. I am not.
Once I arrived at the station, I saw my bus still on the departure board, and I was so relieved that I made it. Five minutes went by, 10 went by, 15 went by. No bus. So I walked over to the information desk to ask if something was up. ‘Sorry ma’am, our internet data and board data’s are all incorrect at the moment, you should have called us. No buses today; transportation is stuck everywhere.’ And he did mean everywhere. I had asked my in-laws if they could drop me off, but a lot of roads were blocked, so I was out of luck. I called work, where I had just started four days prior and they were ticked. I then went to check on the train; it would be another 20-minute wait to get home, then I walked home from the mini-station. All in all, I wasted three and a half hours trying to get to work.
When I got home, my husband said, ‘Grab a Magnum White, your favorite.’ We’d just gotten two boxes of mixed flavored Magnums a week before and, of course, it being my unlucky day, my son had already eaten all the Magnum Whites.
I decided to spend the rest of the day on the couch while my husband BBQ’d, and except for making my kids some salad to go with it, I was flat out busted.
However, my son had a birthday party at school the next day, so I spent my evening baking waffles and making snacks for his class. Of course, my first batch completely failed.”
This Gift Didn’t Cut It
“My senior prom was the night before Mother’s Day. I had spent the night at a friend’s against her wishes. The morning of, my group of friends all decided that it would be super nice and our moms would all love it if we stopped and bought flowers for them before coming home.
So we all went to the grocery store and all I had on me was $5. You know those really lame tiny white flowers that they use to fill out a rose bouquet? All I could afford was like, five of those. I don’t even know why they packaged only five of them together. They look nice as part of a bigger bouquet, but on their own they looked so puny and pathetic.
When I got home, my mom was already angry. Then I presented her the flowers and I think it just made it worse. ‘Here, I got you this dumb, awful present in an effort to curb your anger. Is it working?'”
“My Husband Acted As If It Were Any Other Day”
“I am 34 years old and a mother of four. I woke up the morning of Mother’s Day and when I did, my husband went back to sleep. I cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, did laundry and picked up around the house. He did nothing to show me any sort of appreciation for being a mother. I know I know, but I have always celebrated Mother’s Day in this way, and I know some others don’t but this is how we’ve always done it.
Anyway, my kids made me a card and gave me a handful of dandelions which was absolutely sweet and lovely. I love them very much.
But my husband acted as if it were any other day. I asked him a little bit ago why he didn’t do or say anything all day and he said that he was looking in our closet tonight for something for a surprise but couldn’t find it.
Ok? He couldn’t find it so he just went on his computer to play games.
‘Why didn’t you try to do something else then?’ I asked.
‘What makes a gift special is when it’s unexpected,’ he replied.
I got upset and said that’s not always the case. He got all testy and started to get ready to go get me something at a store. I told him not to because he made me feel like junk for wanting something (buying something wasn’t necessary, even a hand made card or a back massage or even saying happy mothers day would have suffice).
I feel awful that my own husband couldn’t care less about my wants and needs on this holiday.”
Mother’s Day Wasn’t Good In This House
“Probably the worst was one year where we tried to take my mom out to breakfast at a fancier place, my dad accidentally made an offhand comment about how much money the kids’ meals were costing in comparison to the parents’ food. My mom called a waiter over and complained to the waiter about how terrible my dad was, loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.
The poor waiter ended up somehow getting away and sending a manager, who in desperation gave us a discount on the kids’ food to get her to shut up. Then we all ate in silence until we went home and didn’t talk for the rest of the day.
Most of my Mother’s Day memories as a kid were of those where I was crying in my room because my mother was screaming at my dad that neither my dad nor any of the kids were good enough and our gifts, acts of service, or other tributes paled in comparison to what she deserved.”
That’s Not Something You Say To A Mother
“The backstory here is that my husband and I had a really, really rough patch after our son was born. The Mother’s Day that occurred during this time I asked about if there were plans and if so what. He said something to the effect of I’ll get you something/plan something for you when you’re a better mom, which he said specifically because he knows I am forever anxious about if I’m being the best mom I could be.
My husband said he felt like a complete brat the second he said it, as well he should have, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t shatter my heart to hear that. I’d also be lying if I said I don’t still feel slightly uneasy at Mother’s Day related stuff from him rather than our son, but that part is on me letting things repeat in my head for years long after amends were made rather than any continued animosity from him.”
Her Gift Left Her Stepmother In Tears
“The worst gift my step-mother ever received was from me.
She loves antiques, so I found this brass music box shaped like a gazebo. It was pretty and played ‘Raindrops keeps Falling on My Head.’ I wrapped it up and gave it for Mother’s Day. When she wound it up and started playing, she burst out crying. I went, ‘Holy heck, what did I do wrong?’
When she was 12 years old, her older sister was killed by an impaired driver, her father no less, while in the yard messing around with an ATV. My step-mom witnessed everything. ‘Raindrops’ was the last song they had sung together in the school choir.”
Probably One Of Her Husband’s Final Mother’s Days
“My daughter was 14 months old and her dad, my then husband, said he would let me sleep in as my gift for Mother’s Day. I never ever got to sleep in because my ex was super cranky about waking up early to take care of our daughter.
So, on Sunday morning, we heard our kid on the monitor at 7 am. I happily said, ‘That’s all you!’ and my ex started cursing up a storm and said, ‘Your freaking kid is going to stare at the TV and eat cereal out of the box until you get up.’
Being left with no other options, I got up and sent him back to bed. Later that day, he gave me a card that said, ‘Thank you for putting up with me.’
And that’s (part of) why he’s my ex.”
She’s Just Hoping For A Card At This Point
“I got nothing. Not even a card from my husband or kids. Instead, I was dragged kicking and screaming to my mother-in-law’s house. I sat in the living room alone for most of the visit.
Then for Father’s Day, I went all out. I custom made mug with his name on It, a perfect card, a Father’s Day bag, and a special supper with his favorite drinks. He was beyond tickled pink, then asked why I did so much as lo is too young. I said, this is what Father’s Day is supposed to be like, pampered and shown that his son loves him very much.
I didn’t get upset with my lack of a Mother’s Day because his mom had turned every single holiday/birthday into her worship day. Holidays are awful with her.
He does learn fast though, so I’m hopeful for a card this year.”