For most parents, there's not much we wouldn't do for our children, and that includes moving heaven and Earth to be with them to support them when they need it. But one mum has been criticised by her husband because she refused to cancel her holiday plans in order to attend a ceremony honouring her adopted daughter.
The mum explained that she adopted Meg as a teenager after her parents passed away, and now at the age of 25, the student has landed an important internship and her achievements are being recognised in a special ceremony at her school. However, the ceremony falls during her parents' holiday, and her mum doesn't want to change her plans.
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In a post on Reddit, the mum - who is from the US - claimed: "My husband Gary and I have two daughters, Meg and Ally. We officially adopted Meg when she was 14 after her parents - Gary's brother and his wife - both died in an accident.
"We've recently found out that Meg has been offered an internship. Her college is holding a small ceremony to celebrate the few people that were offered this.
"The issue now is that the day of this ceremony falls on one of the days that me, Ally and Gary are going on vacation. Our flights, hotel, everything has already been booked. Meg's college is in a different state that'll take a few hours to drive to, so we'll have to at least stay overnight.
"Gary's adamant that we go to the ceremony. I don't want to go because we'll have to cancel and reschedule everything for our trip, and we'll also lose some deposits. Ally also has no desire to go as she's been looking forward to this, and it's our first proper vacation in a while.
"We've been arguing about this and Gary said that even if we don't go, he is [going], but that also interferes with our trip. He called me selfish and unsupportive of her."
The woman has insisted they will treat Meg to a special dinner when they get back from their holiday, but doesn't see the ceremony as important because it isn't her graduation.
She added: "I told him that we'll treat Meg and go out to dinner and everything later, but this is just a brief ceremony for an internship, not a job, and not graduation or something of the sort. It's causing quite a bit of tension between us."
In follow-up comments made by the mum, she confirmed that the internship is at the Kennedy Space Centre, and said her daughter is one of the "youngest people" to have been offered the position.
But several commenters were split on which side to take, as some said the mum was wrong for neglecting her child's achievements, but others said she was right to press on with her holiday plans.
One person said: "At 25, I would not want my parents to cancel a vacation."
While another added: "You have prior plans, and in addition, would lose money changing them. That's how life works. What if you were attending a wedding that day, or had surgery scheduled? Same difference. As you say, it's an internship. Not sure why that even requires a ceremony of any kind."
But someone else disagreed, writing: "You are her parents and she wants to share this accomplishment with you. Just because you don't think it's important doesn't mean that she doesn't. Have you thought about how she will feel if she were the only student there without the support of her family?
"If you and Ally don't want to go, that's your choice, but don't try to stop Gary from going to support his daughter. I wonder if the tables were turned and it was Ally, would you also feel it's not important enough to attend?"
And a fourth posted: "As an adopted child who was made to think that excelling was just expected and not celebrated, I'm probably biased. But gosh, the poor girl doesn't show disappointment because I have to imagine this isn't the first time she or her accomplishments has been minimised."
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