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That’ll teach her.

One mom’s tough decision to leave her daughter behind, who forgot her passport, has sparked a massive online debate.

In an essay for Business Insider, freelance journalist Cheryl Maguire explained how she and her 21-year-old daughter had a “nostalgic” trip to Turks and Caicos on their calendar, with plans to recreate photos from past trips to the island.

Upon getting ready for the trip, the Gen Zer realized she had left her passport behind in her New York City apartment, with no option to get it to Boston, where the duo was flying out from, in time for their scheduled flight.

“Since this was a grand opening, changing the trip plans wasn’t an option. If it hadn’t been tied to an event, I probably would’ve rescheduled,” Maguire wrote, as the vacation was a press trip she was going on for work.


  Nothing is worse than realizing you don’t have your passport when getting ready to travel abroad. Friends Stock – stock.adobe.com Nothing is worse than realizing you don’t have your passport when getting ready to travel abroad. Friends Stock – stock.adobe.com

The mom stressed that she felt bad leaving her daughter behind, but since it was technically a pre-scheduled press trip for a hotel’s grand reopening, she had no choice but to go on it without her offspring.

It seems the 21-year-old is known for being forgetful, and according to her mom, she has improved her ways.

Regardless, when this mom’s story went live over the weekend, it made its way to X, shared by user @Tablesalt13 — and the reaction online is quite mixed.

Above a screenshot of the story, the user wrote, “They’re calling it the most boomer story of all time,” and a slew of commenters shared their thoughts.

One joked, “That daughter just learned two lessons: always check your passport and choose the nursing home very carefully.”

Another was shocked that the daughter couldn’t simply hop on a different flight after retrieving her passport. “Daughter couldn’t just reschedule? Why would I expect my mom to lost a bunch of money for my screw up?”


  The mother-daughter duo was originally planning on making this Turks and Caicos trip a “nostalgic one,” recreating old photos and all. travnikovstudio – stock.adobe.com The mother-daughter duo was originally planning on making this Turks and Caicos trip a “nostalgic one,” recreating old photos and all. travnikovstudio – stock.adobe.com

Another agreed with the mom’s difficult decision: “I did the same thing to a friend. We were going to Florida and as we are checking in for our flight, she found out she didn’t bring her passport.”

While another quipped, “Isn’t the whole point of the trip to spend time together? Guess if you are rich and spend all your time together and daughter is irresponsible, there could be a valuable lesson, but she also learned when you screw up your famiky ditches you to prioritize pleasure.”

“That’s why I ask my kids 10 times on the way to the airport if they’ve got their passports,” chimed in another parent.

“A bit of ‘tough love?'” wrote someone else.

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