My husband and I bought our granddaughter a wedding gift from her registry.
She called us cheap.
What she didn’t know was that we had planned to give her $40,000 in cash the day before her wedding — the same gift we’ve quietly given to every grandchild.
I’m in my 70s, a grandmother to five. For each wedding, we follow the same tradition: a small registry gift, then a generous check before the ceremony. We ask only one thing — discretion.
For our youngest granddaughter, Eloise, we sent the cheapest item on her registry: an air fryer. Before we could explain anything, she called furious.
“An air fryer? That’s embarrassing. Everyone knows you have money,” she snapped.
I was stunned. Then, in the heat of the moment, I revealed the truth about the $40,000 gift.
She didn’t apologize. She hung up, accusing us of not loving her.
Despite the hurt, we even bought her an expensive china set — but decided the cash gift no longer felt right.
Weeks later, she found out the money was real and demanded it, accusing us of discrimination.
We stood firm.
“It was never about the gift,” I told her. “It was about how you spoke to us.”
She cried, blamed wedding stress, and begged. When we didn’t give in, she threatened to boycott Christmas. Her mother sided with her.
We still love her. Our door is open.
But respect matters — even in families.
And money should never replace it.
