There is only so much a religious person can endure until they are obliged to draw the line, and the individuals behind that line are outraged. In this story a woman drew the line by forbidding her mother-in-law from taking her 9-year-old daughter to a “purity ball,” which enraged the MIL. Read the whole story and share your thoughts on this.
Source: Reddit
My daughter Tess (9F) has gone to church with MIL periodically since she was little. I don’t love that, as I’m not a religious person and my MIL is an aggressive Baptist, but my husband thinks it’s a good bonding activity and so I don’t complain. Plus, it gives us adult time on Sundays.
Well, because of the virus, services have gone online. Tess still goes over to MIL’s place and helps her set up the laptop for them to watch together. She also Zooms into a girls Sunday school group after the service.
Last week, Tess came home chattering about the “ball,” and how MIL is going to take her shopping at a fancy shopping center in our town. I thought she was playing an imagination game, so I just nodded along.
Then, my husband chimed in to remind Tess that “the budget is $50.” I was super confused and asked him what was up.
He gave me kind of a shady look and said that the girls Sunday school class was having a dance this June. I asked him how COVID would affect that, and he didn’t know. My spider senses were tingling so I pulled him aside to the back porch.
Eventually I gathered that he was talking about an annual purity ball for the 10-14 year old girls. He said my SIL had done it in middle school and it was just a fun thing and not a big deal. I started blowing my top, to be honest, and I informed him that “purity” ideals are bad for girls. I thought we were on the same page about those topics, but he thinks it’s just a “fun thing for girls to do and get dressed up.” My husband claims that he wasn’t trying to hide it from me and that he thought I knew, given how popular the purity ball is at their church.
I put my foot down and texted MIL to ask if she’d signed Tess up. She said not yet, and I made clear I wouldn’t allow it. Period. Ever. MIL sent back her usual stuff implying that I’m a hoe who led her son down a bad road and I’m an unfit mother.
Am I A Jerk for forbidding the “purity ball”? The only reason I could be an a**hole is I unilaterally decided against my husband’s input, and I think Tess will be disappointed.
Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
