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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Haunting_Skirt1029 on 2026-01-23 22:08:18+00:00.
This happened last weekend and I’m still tired thinking about it.
I stopped by my parents’ house to drop something off. I was supposed to be there maybe 10 minutes. My dad was in the garage and asked if I could help him “hold something real quick.”
That was my first mistake.
The thing I was holding turned out to be a heavy wooden board he was trying to mount. While I was holding it, he said, “Actually, can you grab the drill?” So I held it with one hand and passed him the drill. Then he needed screws. Then a different bit. Then he decided the whole thing wasn’t level and needed to be adjusted.
At no point did he let me stop holding the board.
Thirty minutes passed. My arms were shaking. Sweat was dripping down my back. Every time I asked if we were almost done, he said, “Yeah yeah, just one more thing.”
Eventually my arms gave out and I dropped the board. It didn’t break anything, but it scared both of us. My dad looked genuinely confused and said, “You should’ve said something.”
I did. Several times.
I left an hour later with sore arms, guilt, and a reminder that “just for a minute” is a lie passed down through generations.
TL;DR: Agreed to help my dad “for a minute” and ended up trapped holding a board until my arms gave out.