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AIBU?

To be upset with my uncle!

19 replies

Mum2OliverJames · 26/10/2008 20:17

I hardly ever speak to my uncle, he is the 'black sheep of the family' basically when he was in his teens he got a drug problem, my nan and grandad have spent thousands of pounds sending him abroad to rehab clinics, he aparently now is off hard drugs and 'just' smokes canabis

this isnt what i am annoyed about just giving the background

when my DS was born nearly 10 months ago i didnt get so much as a phone call or a card, i put this down to him being a bit low on cash maybe, no pressie, not a problem! everytime we went to my nan and grandads we would tell him we were going so he could come and meet my son, he lives a 2 minute walk away and could never be bothered because he is 'watching the football' or something equally as stupid

this even though it hurts is totally expected from him, he used to give us broken promises all the time when we were little and nearly always forgets birthdays

but on friday he had the cheek to ring me up, after not speaking for ages and the first thing that leaves his lips (beofre asking how me or DS are) is he wants a favour! i was completely stunned and agreed to do the favour (was buying him a local paper because he thought his friend would be in it)

we went to my nan and grandads and done the usual phone him up see if he wants to come over whilst we were there and to our suprise he said yes, we had to wait over an hour for him to get there and had to keep DS up in his naptime

he got there, only looked at DS twice, when i told him i hadnt brought the paper with me he was visably peed of at me, he then went on talking and pulled out 3 very new expensive all singing all dancing phones

AIBU to think that if he could have bought these expensive phone he could have at the very least got a cheap 99p card from the card factory (which i know there is one near him)

im not upset because he hasnt bought my DS any gift because we dont expect it, its the thought that counts and he just hasnt thought about him at all

would you be upset by this?

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crankycrane · 26/10/2008 20:21

he sounds very selfish to me imho

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Ronaldinhio · 26/10/2008 20:23

three very new all singing all dancing phones

is now a drug dealer

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CarGirl · 26/10/2008 20:23

I think long before I would have drawn the conclusion that he wasn't interested in me and not have bothered with the effort of contacting him etc?

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QuintessentialShadows · 26/10/2008 20:26

Not at all. It is your UNCLE. I find it odd you would even expect it. I find it even more strange that he rings you up, asks you to buy the paper, you make plans to meet him, and dont bring the paper? You expect too much. Sadly, while our children means the world to US, they dont to far off relatives such as uncles and aunts.

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Mum2OliverJames · 26/10/2008 20:31

QES - i didnt bring the paper because i didnt go to my nan and grandads from home, where the paper was.

i just really wanted to give him the chance to meet my DS because he had said so many times to my nan and grandad that its a shame that he always misses him

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Liffey · 26/10/2008 20:33

I'm inclined to agree with QS. He's YOUR uncle not your brother right? so he's the baby's great uncle, he's probably seen a whole lot of babies coming into the World.

Obviously he's a fairly laid back individual, who doesn't feel obliged to write little notes and so on, but he felt comfortable enough to ring you up (in a world that revolves around text messages) to ask you to spend £1 on the local paper!

I would have just done it tbh. I don't expect people to gush over my children. They are just children iykwim. My parents and my siblings (to a lesser degree) are thrilled by the existence of my children. That's as much as I'd expect!

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StewieGriffinsMom · 26/10/2008 20:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Crocodilius · 26/10/2008 20:35

It sounds like it is not a great loss for your DS not to have this man in his life.

Agree the three phones suggest dodgy dealings.

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lulumama · 26/10/2008 20:37

if you hardly speak to him, thoroughly disapprove of him and think he is selfish, why do you

  1. care if you see him or he sees your DS?

    or

  2. even answer the phone to him , never mind agree to do him favours??

    YABU to be upset at a man you know to be self absorbed to be self absorbed

    if he smokes cannabis a lot, i doubt he could be arsed to by the paper or a card or do anything like meeting your DS

    move oN !
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wannaBe · 26/10/2008 20:39

I think people feel obliged to say how much they want to meet other peoples' children even if they don't actually feel they want to.

As much as you think your ds is perfect, unfortunately not everyone in your life is going to care about being in his life in the way that you do. But sometimes it takes time to realize this. I know that when my ds was the same age I was very annoyed that my sil appeared not to be interested in my (pfb) ds. It's only really as he's got older that I've mellowed and realized that not everyone is obliged to care about other people's children, even if they're family.

Oh and, three all singing all dancing mobile phones - is he dealing now?

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lulumama · 26/10/2008 20:40

shall i also add

'is he a drug dealer now?'
don;t want to be the odd one out

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Mum2OliverJames · 26/10/2008 20:43

ok, i was expecting too much, i can see that now. i just wanted him to care.

i wont answer phone next time if i know that its him (he is always changing his number)

thank you for your time mumsnet jury!

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lulumama · 26/10/2008 20:44


next !
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crankycrane · 26/10/2008 20:46

maybe the OP may have wanted the smallest bit of acknowledgement for her ds...I dont think that is being unreasonable

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crankycrane · 26/10/2008 20:50

lol

gavel

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lulumama · 26/10/2008 20:54

i stole that from another MNer

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Liffey · 26/10/2008 20:54

Maybe he works for Carphonewarehouse. That was my first thought.

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Mum2OliverJames · 26/10/2008 20:55

He is a window cleaner

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Crocodilius · 26/10/2008 21:02

That explains it!
Window cleaners are renowned for needing three mobile phones.
They keep dropping them in their buckets of water.
Or getting them wrestled off them by angry husbands when they get caught taking pictures of naughty housewives.

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