Remember those feel-good movie characters from the aughts who'd one day find a troubled family and teach them how to love again? Well, none of them were available, so I'll have to do. That's right, I've gathered some of the wildest family drama from across Reddit, and now you're invited to my virtual BBQ to hear it all. From failed family vacations to parents knowing when to cut the leash, I'm here to ruin everyone's Thanksgiving, even if we're in May.

My Brother Disrespected My Husband’s Work, So I Stood Up For Him

I, F27, come from a family of white-collar career people. My Dad 60M owns his own business and my mom 57F is a pediatric surgeon. My older brother M30 is a lawyer and loves to boast about how much money he makes. He is always buying new watches and expensive suits. He also drives a Porsche and is engaged to who will be his third wife.

I've always been more introverted than my brother and I tend to fade into the background. I created and operate my own business and make a more than decent living. My husband is a master electrician, and he owns a very successful business, he makes more than three-times what I do. We are a DINK couple (Double Income, No Kids); however, we keep our income very lowkey and don't spend money like my brother does. My parents are aware of how much my husband makes because we paid for their 35th wedding anniversary getaway and my dad saw the price tag.

We were at Mother's Day on Sunday, and both my brother and I bought nice things for our mother as gifts. He bought her jewelry and I got her a certificate for several hand massages at a spa near the hospital she works at. My mother thanked us, and my brother decided that it would be a good time to brag about how much the necklace cost, looking at my husband and joking about how he could never afford to buy a necklace like the one he got my mother. How my husband could never afford anything on an electrician's wage. He carried on like that until I had enough of him insulting my partner, who worked harder than my brother to get where he's at.

I yelled at my brother to shut up, and that my husband easily makes twice what he does and that he should sit his ass down and be more respectful. "Mother's Day is about mom, not you." were my exact words. After my brother left, soon after I snapped at him, I apologized to my mom, and we went on to have a wonderful dinner, where mom told my husband embarrassing stories about me when I was little.

My husband thanked me for standing up for him and my mom told me she had a lovely night while we were on the phone yesterday and told me she used some of the money on the certificate to get her wrists and fingers massaged after a 10-hour surgery, she told me she was very happy with my gift. My brother's fiancé sent me a tirade of texts blasting me for embarrassing him in front of our parents and calling me an asshole. I feel bad for causing drama but happy I stood up for my husband. AITA?

Why does your brother feel the need to put on this type of persona, especially around his close family? While it’s not your job to fix your fully-grown brother, I do think you two need to talk once the air cools a little bit. I agree with the comments, you weren’t in the wrong, but I think somebody in the family has to talk to him about it. Right now, your parents are still in good enough health to work, but as time passes, you’ll want your brother around should you have to make any tough decisions regarding them later on. Cue the sappy music, but you two really do only have each other — let’s enjoy the good years together while we still have them. Read the rest of the thread here.

My Sweet Boy Has Turned Into A Real Tasmanian Devil

My wife and I are both 34, and we have two children: a girl (7-years-old) and a boy (13-years-old).

Neither of our children have ever had any behavioral issues and have always had calm and sweet temperaments.

Recently (about four to five months ago) my son started behaving strangely. He started spending all his time in his room, alternating between being aggressive towards us and isolating himself. At first I thought it was just typical teenage behavior and I didn't think too much of it. Until it started escalating. He started becoming very violent towards his younger sister which he had never been before. Both kids recently spent the night at my parents house and they expressed their concerns regarding him as he had insulted my mother heavily and threatened to smash the TV which is completely out of character for him. I tried having a conversation with him but he just stares me down and refuses to say anything.

I tried talking about this with my wife but she told me she doesn't see anything unusual with him. At first I got angry at her because how can she not see the shift in behavior. But then I realized that he never acts like this towards her. Towards his mother he is as sweet as ever and he also tones down is bad behavior towards the rest of the family when she is home. He always tells her everything about his day and is very affectionate towards her. As soon as she is at work he goes back to his horrible behavior. He is so violent towards his sister I am starting to worry about her safety but my wife still doesn't get it. Whenever I bring it up she tells me he is just going through adolescence and that I am overreacting. I started punishing him more harshly for his behavior but instead of supporting me my wife is against me.

I tried taking him to a psychologist but he can act very calm and reasonable when he wants to so the psychologist told me there is nothing wrong with him even though I know it's not true. He smashed a plate this morning when I told him we were going to be late for school (my wife works from 6 am to 3 pm so I handle the drop offs she handles the pick ups).

I am unsure how to handle the situation better. Talking hasn't worked (he won't talk or listen to me) psychologist didn't work and wife is not on my side. I don't want to push my son away and keep punishing him without him learning anything but I am worried about his future and my daughter's safety.

Any advice?

It looks like your wife is the only person that can reach him, and the only one that he likes talking to. Try getting her to help and play good cop, because right now you're clearly the bad cop. Like the comments, I'm surprised she's not more concerned about the safety of your daughter. However, I strongly disagree with all of the prison warden-type behavior some of these comments are saying — don’t get rid of his door or anything fun from his room. At the end of the day, he's human and this is his first time being a teenager, be patient and get your wife onboard to serve as the mediator between him and whatever is causing him to act out. Read the rest of the thread here.

I'm Tired Of Being My Dad's Black Sheep Daughter

My sister and I are adults now, but her and my dad have always been very close in a way that my dad and I haven't. I wish I could have the same relationship with him, but I understand their personalities are very similar and I try not to hold it against him.

But it would just be so much easier if there weren't so many opportunities between the two of them that I never get to be apart of. Every year they go on this annual fun trip, just the two of them, I always make it clear I want to come and I'm never actually invited. My dad will usually make a comment in passing several months before the trip saying something like "hey I think we're probably going to go on these dates" and then never bring it up with me again. I'll express surprise and hurt every year when I find out again, and then he gets annoyed as if he made a real attempt to include me and I just didn't do anything about it until the last minute.

This year I just found out they're going again (they left today) but this year he didn't say a single word about it to me. I scrolled through five months of texts hoping to prove myself wrong, but he never mentioned it. It's so clear that this is a trip he views as a special thing between the two of them, but it's so crushing even though I'm an adult and live on my own now

I finally told him how hurtful it was and he said something along the lines of "I'm sorry. I have another trip coming up in June if you want to come" and reminded me of how one year I was actually supposed to go but then had to bail (I don't remember why, but it was for a valid reason). But as a parent, wouldn't that just make you even more motivated to invite your daughter the next year? Since she couldn't go the previous year? I just don't get how he's so easily able to go on this trip every year knowing that it hurts me to not be involved. It would be one thing if the two of us had our own thing that we also do together without my sister, but we don't really do anything together at all now that I'm adult. I've been casually left out of things for basically my entire life and experiencing with my dad is just crushing in a way that I can't explain

It sounds like you just want quality time with your dad. I think you can achieve that, even outside a planned vacation. Going forward, pick a specific date, time and place for the two of you to just hang out. This might help you build better communication with your dad, and he won’t forget you during his future trips, or feel the need to defend himself. Be creative, even a fast food hangout could be the start of a new tradition with him. I'm with the comments, he did mess up, but he doesn't sound like a bad guy and you should give him a chance. Read the rest of the thread here.

Read the previous edition here.

[Image credit: Antony Trivet]