This 32-year-old woman grew up in the foster care system, and after she was bounced back and forth between homes, she was ultimately placed with a couple, her foster parents, when she was around 12 years old.
In the beginning, it seemed as though things would be okay, too. However, it quickly became clear to her that her foster parents didn’t actually view her as part of their family.
Instead of a daughter, she was treated like a live-in maid right after she moved in.
“They’d make me do all the cleaning, cooking, laundry – you name it. I was the one who scrubbed the floors, cooked their dinners, washed their clothes… even had to iron them to their standards,” she explained.
Despite taking care of practically all the household chores, she wasn’t allowed to participate in any other aspects of a normal childhood, either. She didn’t go to any after-school activities and wasn’t able to hang out with her friends. And when it came to dating, that was completely out of the picture.
Her foster parents would constantly tell her that she was “needed at home,” making it feel like her sole purpose in life was to serve them.
“If I didn’t do a good enough job or if I missed something, they’d punish me by giving me more chores, or they’d sometimes take food away,” she revealed.
Plus, as she navigated the tough transitions of adolescence, her foster parents were never there for her emotionally. Rather, she described them as “cold.”
Her foster parents did not help her with school and never showed her any encouragement. She also didn’t get any advice for her future.
SERGEI – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“When I wanted to apply for college, I had to figure it all out on my own. They didn’t even help me with applications or support me in any way. I always felt alone in that house,” she detailed.
Still, she didn’t let that stop her. She worked as hard as she could to attend college, land a solid job in marketing, and create a nice life for herself. She’s since managed to move on from her childhood and wanted to put it all behind her.
Yet, just a few weeks ago, her foster parents came crawling back – expecting her to serve them once again. They apparently gave her a call and claimed that they were in debt and struggling financially. Then, they expected her to help them out since they “raised her.”
That absolutely infuriated her, and she made it clear that her foster parents had no right to ask her for anything after the way they treated her.
“I owe them nothing,” she reasoned.
Her foster parents, on the other hand, had a different perspective. They wound up calling her selfish and ungrateful. On top of that, they even credited themselves with her success – saying it was their “tough love” that got her to where she is today.
“They’re even telling my foster siblings (who they treated way better, by the way) that I’m heartless for abandoning them,” she vented.
This has caused her foster siblings to take her foster parents’ side, urging her to let go of the past and help them out.
And now, while she genuinely doesn’t think she’s in the wrong here, she can’t help but wonder if perhaps she is being too harsh.
Can you imagine growing up like that? Do her foster parents deserve her assistance? What would you do in her shoes?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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