Is this unethical? (Mother's Day question)

[eyesroll]

My (live-in) SO needs to study for finals, so I am going to take his daughter out of the house for a few hours tomorrow. (That's not the unethical part.)

Kiddo's mother has been offered, and declined, time with her child on Mother's Day (as a day off is the best gift of all). This is not the unethical part, either.

The local children's museum is offering free admission for moms tomorrow so her dad can study.

I am taking the child to the museum tomorrow regardless.

Likely, they will not even ask, and just waive the admission ($5) for anyone who looks old and female enough to be a mom. If they did ask, I would say I'm her stepmom (which, OK, is not legally accurate, although I am in a committed long-term relationship with her dad and have helped raise his daughter for almost a year), and either pay or not based on whether they count stepparents for the purpose of free admission.

The museum is NOT struggling financially, as it has a very generous benefactor, so my freebie wouldn't deny them vital funding. If that even counts for matters of ethics.

How unethical is this?

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Treat yourself tomorrow and make hedges take her to the museum.

Not unethical one bit, IMHO.

[eyesroll]

3. I think hedges wants to spend time with his own wife and child tomorrow.

I think this'll be fun (so long as they don't make me wear a "world's greatest mom" nametag or something). She can make a tissue-paper floral arrangement and change a tire and pick plastic apples.

:D

[skygazer]

2. I have a pretty fluid idea of "family"

My former husband and I had 8 kids between us. Two were his ex-wives from a previous marriage, two were mine from a previous marriage, three were his with his ex and one was ours together.

As far as we were concerned, they were all our kids, regardless of the fact that we weren't married for much of our relationship.

A mother is someone who cares for, loves and nurtures a child. Have fun at the museum.

[eyesroll]

5. She's now throwing a grand-mal tantrum about the fact her socks

don't roll down by themselves. ( ? ) I'm beginning to rethink this "quality time" thing. ;-)

[LeftyMom]

4. You are a maternal figure in this kid's life, right?

Go. Have a good time. If they wanted to limit it to biomoms they'd make you take a birth certificate or something.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. The restaurant where we go to Mother's Day brunch....

always passes out flowers to the mothers. My younger niece and I both have blonde hair, while my sister and elder niece are brunettes. For some reason, I am always taken to be Laura's mother and am given a flower. I thank them nicely and keep the flower. Even though I am taking it under false circumstances.

To be fair, I always in past years took the flower home to my mother, who was unable to join us. And we celebrated with her later, and I always made her a nice dinner, even if I was too damn full to eat after brunching.

[gollygee]

7. They likely don't care about the specific circumstances

you play the maternal role, you fit the bill. I doubt they care how you two are specifically related. If they ask, tell them she's your stepdaughter.

[Cos]

8. does she ever call you mom?