https://instagram.com/hendryandrew

(No names in this story are real.)

For some context before the story, I (38f) cook asian foods regularly for dinner and for my daughter, Lily’s (7f) lunches at school. This is because my family enjoys these foods, I like to cook these foods, and my mom cooked a bunch of these foods growing up since she’s half Japanese.

Often times I’ll either give my daughter some leftovers from last nights dinner, plus a fruit/veggie and a snack, or I’ll make her a quick little bento box or some other thing really quick.

So, after school one day, my daughter wanted to play on the playground for a bit before we went home. I said she could play for a few minutes, and she ran off to play. I was waiting next to this other parent, who we’ll call Debra. While I was waiting, Debra came up to me.

Debra: Are you Lily’s mother?

Me: Oh, yeah, I am, why?

Debra: Well, your daughter’s lunches have been bothering my son, and I would like to ask you to pack something else.

Me: What? How are they bothering him?

She then proceeded to start talking about how her son was complaining about my daughters lunches smelling terrible, and that he thought it was disgusting. She also said her son didn’t eat most of his lunch because he was so grossed out.

Me: Okay…I understand your son doesn’t like the smell, but can’t he just sit somewhere else?

Debra: Are you kidding me? My son shouldn’t have to put up with whatever crap you make your daughter bring to this school. It’s disgusting!

And she started making more vaguely racist complaints, but I was fed up at this point.

Me: Listen, I understand your son might not like my daughters food, but he can very easily just not sit next to her. I’m not changing what’s in my daughters lunches because you and your kid don’t want to exist near Asian food. Fuck off.

She angrily stomped off with her kid then, and my daughter finished playing soon after, so we went home.

I talked to my husband about it, and he said that maybe I shouldn’t have told her to fuck off, to avoid her bothering us in the future. AITA?

Today I got the opportunity to go back to where I took the first pic, and I wanted to share how far I've come.