The mind is a fantastic yet strange and mysterious part of the body. It holds so many secrets, especially from our pasts. How many of us dream and relive flashes that seem like they could be memories? But we convince ourselves they're just our wild imagination. That is of course until we whisper about the murky thought one day for a laugh, only to discover it's an old reality from the past that actually is haunting us a bit. Our parents and loved ones know the tales we try to block out... just ask. It'll make for a fun quarantine Halloween.
Redditor u/justaguyulove wanted to hear about all the memories from childhood that needed some extra explaining when they asked everyone to divulge.... [SERIOUS] What was your creepy, unexplainable story as a child that was confirmed by your parents to have happened?In the Sky
One time my brother, his friend, and I saw lights in the sky that darted around like UFOs. We went to get my mom and she was totally nonchalant about it. "Yep, those are UFOs" she said, and went back in the house. Her response was so subdued that we figured she was humoring us and they weren't actually UFOs. Years later I asked her about it and she said she had to force herself to act calmly because she was terrified.
The Steps Unknown....
In the house I grew up in every night at around midnight these big loud footsteps would go stomping up and down the hallway a few times, I'd often think it was my dad getting up in the night so sometimes I would stick my head out in the hall to see him but there was no one there and I'd hear him snoring in his room. This isn't a particularly creepy story but it's just strange that everyone confirms they heard these footsteps and no one was ever that bothered by it, it's like it happened for as long as we could remember so we just accepted it.
Ghosts 'R Us....
I saw a couple ghosts when I was a kid and I never told anyone because I knew they wouldn't believe me. Years and years later when we were moving out we were telling stories about stuff we'd done growing up etc. Turned out everyone had seen things, almost the exact same things, but also never said anything cause they figured no one would believe it!
The Figures
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When my family went to the Georgian mountain region, we rented a cottage.
2 bedrooms, so my brother and I took one and our dad took the other with his gf. I woke up in the middle of the night to three figures in the room, all standing in various places, none of which were visible from the entrance of the room. I woke my brother up and we screamed for our dad, but when he came into the room, he refused to look at the figures and just told us to hide under the covers. Wasn't exactly confirmed, but his refusal to look where they were standing after begging him was telling. Crap still scares my brother and I.
"Wow that was fast"
Not necessarily creepy, but when I was around 11 or so, my mom and I were going about 40 miles outside of town for a typical orthodontist appointment.The trip typically took about 35 mins give or take a few for traffic, however this one time I kinda zoned out while being driven and upon arriving we remarked "Wow that was fast." We were earlier for my appointment than usual despite leaving at a consistent time for each appointment.
Upon looking at our vehicle's clock (and confirming with a watch my mom had on) it had mysteriously taken us only 10 mins to drive to drive the usual 35 minute distance. We have no recollection of anything happening during those 10 mins, and it never happened again, but it left us with a very weird feeling. We still wonder what we drove through to this day.
by the seaside....
In Mom's seaside hometown, there was an offshore decommissioned lighthouse.
Even though utilities to it had long been shut off and the lighthouse was locked, it would randomly light up - clearly visible in all directions.
No one could explain it. It happened so infrequently and at odd hours of the night that by the time officials examined the structure, there were no signs of activity.
To this day, as I've mentioned here once before, the lighthouse remains mysterious and a bit creepy.
Find the earring....
About 5 years ago my parents were sitting out on the back porch on a summer night. Out of the corner of her eye my mom saw a person-sized white translucent figure float by a tree. She asked my dad if he saw it too and he said yes. He is a tough guy but he was really freaked out and so was she so they both went inside. The next morning my mom was walking by the tree where they saw the figure and she noticed a very old looking earring sitting on top of the dirt.
She doesn't wear earrings and it wasn't the kind of earring I would wear. It looked like it belonged to an old lady and it was just dropped there. My mom brought it inside and put it in her jewelry box. The next day it was sitting in the middle of the basement floor. From then on I started hearing footsteps and whispering in my room at least once a week until I moved out.
Red Light Special
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I'm a parent of toddlers and kids now, and I have a creepy story from last year.
We were driving with my then three year old son in the car, and stopped at a red light next to a cemetery. Out of nowhere, my son looked over at the cemetery and said "There are people laying down there, and they can't get up."
My wife asked my son what he was talking about and he pointed to the cemetery and said "All of the people laying down in the park are stuck."
My wife and I just looked at each other in silence completely freaked out. At this point in our son's life, there had been no deaths in the family and we had never discussed death with him.
I'm still creeped out when I think about it.
Bye Love
So I don't actually remember this but my mom told me about it. My grandfather died when I was a year old. Prior to his death, he loved to play with me and would make me laugh in this very specific way. The night he died, my mom heard me making noise. So she goes in assuming I'm crying but I'm not. I'm staring at the ceiling, laughing hysterically just like my grandfather used to make me laugh. She's still convinced he came to say goodbye to me.
The Menu is a No
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Kind of the opposite but I distinctly remember sitting in the front seat of a van with one of my mother's acquaintances whilst she went to collect something. The guy told me in detail about cutting up, cooking and eating humans (he said palms were a delicacy you could fry up like bacon). Only occurred to me as an adult that he was probably lying.
Sad Now.
When I was young, I apparently had a few odd interactions with animals. I would know a person had animals before we went in the house, they tended to come over to me before my parents, mostly just little things that were probably explainable by me a fairly observant little kid.
The one that sticks out to my parents though (telling it the way they do) is we went to a new car garage to have them work on our car. As we pull up, the owner has a big old black lab laying in the middle of the lobby.
The guy informs us the dog is comfortable with people, we can pet him if we want. I shake my head and say "He sad though." Dad looks at me asks why I think that. I reply "He lost his ball, he sad now." Dad said the owner went pale, stared at me for a minute, and then looked at dad said "He's had a favorite ball for ten years that just went down the sewage drain yesterday and I couldn't get it back out."
Back in Rhode Island....
My grandmother was a real estate agent in Rhode Island. I was staying with her one summer and she had to take me along to see a potential listing. It was a very strange house because it was circular. All the rooms went along the outside and connected to each other and there was a center part with a little garden and open to the sky.
She went up to the second story and I stayed downstairs because I wanted to walk around the loop one time. The problem started when I had walked a full loop and I didn't see the stairs. I thought I must be confused so I kept going to the next room and still couldn't find them. I started to panic so I began running around the house as fast as possible checking every room for stairs and there wasn't any. Finally, I sat down by the front door and started crying.
A little while later my grandmother ran into the entryway room looking just as panicked as I had been and asking where I was hiding and why I was hiding and and not answering her calling out to me. I never heard her calling out to me at all. Actually, the house seemed so still and quiet while I was sitting there that I was sure she had forgotten and left me there. We went home and didn't talk about it really.
Like 15 years later I brought it up to my mom and asked if she knew anything or was this a crazy childhood nightmare I'm remembering?
She told me she remembered it clearly because my grandmother had called her and was absolutely spooked because she couldn't explain what had happened and she thought she lost me or I had been taken by someone while she was distracted. She had apparently been looking for me for awhile.
I still don't understand what happened really because the house wasn't even large or confusing to navigate. I still get chills when I think about it.
Grammy Flo....
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When I was 3 years old my grandmother died. She lived in our house with us and we were VERY close, she had told my mom many times that she would do her best to make her passing easy on me since I was so young.
The night that she died, my mom was laying in bed with her and heard her take her last breath. My mom laid there and cried for about 30 minutes before coming into my room to check on me. It was about 5am and there was no reason for me to be awake, but I was sitting in up in my crib playing and when my mom asked why I was awake I said:
"Grandma Flo just came in to give me a kiss goodbye!"
Burn it Down!
At my parent's house I used to hear my mom calling out to me when she didn't, and she confirmed she'd hear me call out to her when I didn't. That was a common occurrence.
Also, whenever I'd be alone for a little while if my mom was late from work or at the grocery store, I'd usually be in the main living room playing n64. I would often times hear loud banging sounds from upstairs as if a heavy piece of furniture tipped over.
I'd go check and nothing was out of place. Both my mother and grandmother have confirmed similar experiences when they're alone in he house.
There was also the time I was downstairs on my laptop, everyone else was in bed, it was after midnight and I didn't realize just how dark everything had gotten without the lights on. I'm zoned out when I begin to hear what sounds like a murmuring from behind me. Like the low rumble you'd hear at a gathering when people are talking and you can't make out conversation.
The hairs on my neck immediately stood up and my body locked up from fear. Tears ran down my face from the physical reaction my body was having. I refused to acknowledge it and kept staring at my laptop screen in silence. It took forever for my body to go back to normal. Some time later I told my mother what happened and it freaked her out because she said she's heard the murmuring as well.
I've always hated that house.
Not so Purrrrfect....
I was in 7th grade when my parents bought their first computer, so not super young. We had a small ranch, so my dad built a corner desk in the basement in one of the finished off rooms since there was no room anywhere else. House was built by my dad in the mid 80s; no one had lived there before us.
When my mom would get home from work, we'd hear her set down her keys on the counter and walk across the kitchen floor in her heels. It was a frequent occurrence for my brother or I to be on the computer (happened to each of us quite a bit), and hear sounds of my mom putting her keys on the counter and walking across the kitchen floor, same as when she gets home from work. In going upstairs to check to see if my mom was home, she wouldn't be home.
We would tell my mom when it happened, and it happened enough where we tried to figure it out by checking the time we'd hear it. A few times, she said she'd been thinking about work at that time and happened to look at the clock.
We tried to figure it out and have no idea to this day why it would continuously happen. A few times my mom mentioned she'd be on the computer and hear someone upstairs, and no one would be home. My dad didn't allow pets in the house either, so it wasn't just a cat being a jerk.
You are my Sunshine.....
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When I was little (probably about 5) my great grandmother passed away from cancer. We were very close. She watched me nearly everyday and would sing to me before my naps.
You are my Sunshine in particular. It was a few days after she died and I can instinctively remember waking up to someone stroking my hair and singing You are my Sunshine. At first, I thought it was my mom, but it was unlike her to do something like that. I turned and found no one there. I even remember getting up and checking my parents room to find they were both asleep. Both my parents kind of just nonchalantly dismiss it, but I swear it was her saying goodbye to me.
The Zoo Story....
Not so much creepy as unexplainable. I have a memory of standing in my grandmother's suburban backyard with my cousin (we were maybe 3-4 yrs old) watching a line of penguins in a neighboring yard climb up a pool slide and slide down into a pool, one by one. They would swim to the stairs, waddle out of the pool and around the pool back to the slide stairs and wait in line to go down the slide again. I never mentioned the memory and assumed, because it was so implausible, that I dreamt it up or remembered wrong.
A couple decades later, I visited my grandmother and this same cousin was also visiting. We were sitting at my grandma's kitchen table which looked out at her backyard. There was a lull in the conversation, and we were all looking out the window. It made me think of the whole penguin memory, so I brought it up. My cousin's eyes widened and she said she had the same memory, but, like me, thought it was a dream. My grandma chuckled and said, "Well, the neighbor that used to live there did work for the zoo..."
Not exactly a confirmation, but... did that really happen?! Even if he did work for the zoo...you can't just bring a dozen penguins home, can you?!?
Shift Work...
When I was a kid my mom used to work at a small grocery store and she went there before breakfast to get fresh bakery goods when she had the afternoon shift. Then she used to wake me up for school, and ask how I slept, and I used to tell her what dream I had that night (if any). One morning I told her I dreamed, that two guys broke in to the store and they left a red screwdriver on the floor. My mom was shocked, because there really was a break in that night, that is why she couldn't buy stuff for breakfast that morning, but couldn't talk with police or colleagues at the time to get more details.
I then went to school, my mom did the afternoon shift and on the evening, when she came home, she told me that the police really did found a screwdriver on the scene, which belonged to the burglar(s). This all happened in Europe, a small town around the early 90s, no CCTV and the burglar(s) never got caught, but this was still a very strange experience. My mom made me fill out a lottery ticket the next day, lol, but never won with it and never had such dreams since then.
"premonitions"
My mom said that I used to have "premonitions" when I was little, under the age of 10.
My great-aunt and great-uncle were like grandparents to me and used to come visit in the summer from Mexico (to the US).
I would miss them terribly then they would go. One year when they were leaving, I cried and cried.
My mom said "Don't worry! They'll be back next year."
I remember sobbing and throwing a small child fit.
Apparently I said to my mom "No you don't understand! Tío (great-uncle) is NEVER coming back!"
And she kept trying to reassure me they'd be back next year.
I kept repeating "He's never coming back!" (I didn't say anything about my great-aunt)
Sure enough, he passed away and never came back within a few weeks or months.
My mom said it was really creepy and I also predicted my great-aunt passing as well.
The Last Call...
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My Granny died when I was little. I don't even remember her.
My Aunt and Mom always told me this story. I was at my house when I was little, I think about 4. The phone rang and I answered it. They got on to me for answering the phone. I told them it was my Granny calling to see if I was ok. I told her yes and hung up. She had recently passed away. They said they were a little creeped out by it, but insisted it really happened.
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.