My parents are divorced, and I live part-time with my dad and my stepmom. Today when we got home, I really had to pee So I didn’t take my shoes off at the door. I ran straight to my room/bathroom, and I took them off right before going in. I didn’t walk all over the house, just straight down the hall. Not even 5 mins later, my dad bangs on my door, yelling that I “wore my shoes in the house.” I told him yeah, I wore them just once for a second because I was about to pee myself. He told me to mop the entire floor immediately. Which i think is overkill. I told him i would later. He leaves and literally not even 10 mins later he storms into my room, still mad, telling me to “go to sleep” (???) and then says my stepmom is in her room crying because I wore shoes inside. He also brought up that a year ago I did this once before and she cried then too, and apparently I “promised” to never do it again. I feel like this is something you talk about and have a normal conversation about not something you cry over. I understand that they want the house to be clean and I wasn’t trying to break any rules, but they act like I was attacking them personally.
AITA for thinking this is an overreaction?
Just to clarify: I took my shoes off in my room because if I leave them anywhere else, especially by the front door, I get yelled at. I’ve already been screamed at in the past for not putting my shoes away in my room.
NTA. They both need to be more adult and more flexible. No shoes in the house? How would they have felt about it if you peed on the floor instead of accidentally maybe getting a bit of (easily cleaned up) dirt on the floor?
Also, if your stepmom is literally crying over you wearing shoes in the house because you’re having a bathroom emergency, she needs some serious help.
Just to confirm, you knew it was a shoes off inside household? It’s obviously been like that for a while because you’ve apparently been through this before, and it does seem quite important to them. Or at least to her. And she’s important to him.
It’s quite a common thing, people not liking the outdoors tracked inside. I didn’t grow up in that kind of house nor do I do it at my home, but as an adult I’ve met a lot of people who do that now, and I get it.
A gentle YTA for knowing the house rules and breaking them. Next time untie your laces in the car so you can get them off faster, because they don’t seem receptive to exceptions in that house.
I might be the asshole because I broke their no-shoes rule, even though they don’t follow it themselves and wear their slippers in and out. I’m not sure if I’m wrong for thinking it’s unfair they treat it like a huge deal only when I do it. I just kind of think it’s overkill to be crying about it.
You’re absolutely right about that. Not worth crying over at all. And I hate hypocrisy too, but I’m guessing you’re underage, you have to follow a custody schedule, and you’re going to keep having to follow the rules for a while longer, so it’s about harm minimization for yourself
They probably would have been more upset if she pissed herself, because she was forced to take her shoes off first.
Esh
They definitely over reacted, but if you had time to take your shoes off before entering the bathroom why couldn’t you take them off at the door?
It sounds to me like they wouldn’t have liked the shoes being left there- she would have had to stop and pick them up immediately to take to her room. Whereas kicking them off in her room, wherever they end up is fine and she can put them properly away later. Having to stop to pick them up may not seem like a lot of time, but it can feel like it when you really have to go.
So you didn’t have time to take of your shoes before entering the house, but you took them of before you entered your room/bathroom?
Makes no sense. YTA.
NTA. Like it’s not that big of a deal?? Why would anyone have strong feelings about this. You made the floor a little bit dirtier, if you clean it up later then there’s hardly any discussion at all. Unless you literally smeared shit on the ground somehow there’s no reason for anyone to be angry at you, and definitely no reason for anybody to be crying. Unless there are major issues in your household I can’t imagine any adult acting like this.
NTA. Could you have done better? Sure. But they’re ENTIRELY overreacting. I can’t even imagine my parents yelling at me for breaking a rule that can be rectified so easily, when the reason it was done was something like hurrying to the bathroom. Crying over it? Absolutely ridiculous.
Thank you. I feel like I’m in a mad alternate universe reading some of these replies.
You wore shoes okay, then take the swifter and mop up the hallway and bathroom. It would have taken less time than writing to Reddit.
NTA. You need to get away from these crazy people.