To think the hilarity just wasn’t necessary?

I think laughing at someone is mean and cruel - usually, but tbh @DonnySue that was very peculiar behaviour. Very 'Ross from Friends.' Do you have a synthesiser, and do you collect fossils? Do you play the bagpipes badly?

Totally pretentious and wanky 😂 my siblings would never stop taking the piss out of me if I said this! YABU

It means PP is a Mumsnet Classics Bore who likes to advertise her membership of an in group.

(wrote this comment a couple of times and deleted it for being bitchy, but then I reread PP's comment.)

In that she was interested in something that was unusual, turns out a lot of people agreed with her & raised thousands of pounds to excavate his remains. Do you feel better now having a laugh.

For me, reflecting is something you do, rather than telling anyone you're doing it in the hear & now. A bit like that fella on The Apprentice a few years ago, who -when faced with two other contestants who were bickering - stepped in and said "OK guys, I'm going to diffuse this situation". No. As Jenny Eclair then said on the follow-up show "You're Fired", you don't say that, you just do it.

Also, to take yourself away to "reflect" on something very close to oneself that's just been dragged to the surface is one thing, to do it about distant history is probably not an everyday occurrence, so that may have raised a smile or two.

I have to say though, the way you've written it had me quite literally crying with laughter (particularly "I tried to get the topic back up and running but sister kept saying everyone was still reflecting - cue more hilarity") - not at you, but it could have passed for a script in a sitcom. Please don't be embarrassed by your family laughing - it sounds light hearted, even if you can't feel this ATM.

Conversations do move on, though, @DonnySue - and it is not reasonable for anyone to want the conversation to stay on one particular topic, when others want to move on.

And I am sorry, but telling your dd you wanted time to reflect on the conversation does sound somewhat pretentious to me - it smacks of ‘I am such a deep thinker - much deeper than the rest of you - so I need time for my deep thoughts’. I’d laugh, to myself, at least, if one of my family said something similarly wanky.

You must admit it's quite unusual behaviour OP. If it's your favourite topic then presumably you know a lot about it, so what was there to digest on your own? Having said that, isn't it wonderful we're not all the same?

I'm an historian so I completely get your love of history. I give history tours most weeks and this week has been particularly interesting as we've had an archaeological dig where I work and I've learned things I didn't hitherto know about our site - things that I've continued to research at my leisure. I think if I'd conspicuously disappeared off to think about things by myself and actually told people that's what I was doing, I could expect a bit of gentle ribbing.

I'm sure your family enjoy the fact you have such an intense interest - they just find it amusing too, which is fine. When DH and I meet new people, if they ask what job I have my DH literally groans and says "Don't start her off", but he actually loves what I do - my enthusiasm has just become a bit of a family joke. Don't take it to heart.

Is this for real? I’m doubting the OP given the reference to York Dungeon which is a history-based live entertainment
spooky jump-scare kind of a place, including audience participation. Does reflecting on that mean wondering if you should have taken your kid in or going back over the hilarious bit with the actors when they crept up behind you or laughed at the people from Leeds?

My family have been ribbing me all weekend over my affection for the bee that is laying eggs in my wall. I am used to it by now, I am ND so they don’t always understand me.

Sounds like your family are similar. If they are a good family usually try not to be upset about it.

What does this mean please? 🙂

Oh so the topic moved to a current topic, which is relevant to the world now, and you walked out?

They probably thought you'd huffed out because it wasn't what you wanted to talk about so sent DD to check on you and the found the weirdness ... weird

I'm surprised your DD hasn't been bullied at school if she sits and reflects on school trips when everyone else is messing around and enjoying being out of school.

There are a lot of bitchy replies on this thread and the references to the woman in the Sistine Chapel are unnecessary and uncalled for.

OP, it was unusual behaviour and a little intense but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with it.

Your family were very nasty for laughing at you. It seems bullying behaviour to me.

In future, I'd use a more socially acceptable excuse as others have suggested such as needing a bit of fresh air.

OP, are you neurodiverse by any chance? Needing time and space to process information is a classic autism trait.

Not a dig btw. I’m AuDHD myself and need more time than NTs to process conversations and new information. And being laughed at for being “weird” is a regular occurrence for the ND…

My family would’ve taken the mick out of me for years if I did something like that -it’s what families do to help you stay real!

It sounds like they were exactly laughing at her, and it was nasty and mean-spirited.

It's a sign of how this country values thoughtful reflection and basic critical thinking over tabloid headlines and knee jerk reactions that so many responses are that it's an entirely reasonable thing for OP to be embarrassed about.

OP, I tend to let things sit and maybe reflect afterwards but there's fuck all wrong with taking yourself away somewhere without making a fuss to work through new information. If more people used their brains properly maybe we wouldn't be in the utter shit we're in.

Thank you!

This is brilliant, I will now think of this thread to cheer myself up

🤣

Yes but you're just one person. Sometimes in a group the conversation will stray to a topic you don't like, and that's fine. The group had spent some time discussing a niche interest of yours, quite possibly with you dominating the conversation, and then when it began to move on (probably because some were getting a bit fed up) you left the room to be with your own thoughts rather than listen to the conversation of others.

Really really rude.

So you were all talking about your special subject, that you know all sorts about.

Then then conversation changed so you got up and left. A 9yr old girl came looking for you and you told her you were taking some me time to reflect on the medieval history conversation, whilst everyone else sat conversing in your absence.

And you're really going to persist with the "whatever could you possibly mean, deliberately drawing attention to myself and my physical removal from the group and declaration of my self reflection whilst they discuss menial topics clearly find beneath me?". You are, aren't you.

But maybe everyone else was tired of talking about Medieval History ?

The hilarity was totally necessary 🤣 just join in with it too! It will (inevitably!) become a family joke anyway. FWIW I don’t think they were exactly laughing AT you

I see no problem in what you did, OP, especially with your update about the conversation beginning to drift at that moment.
I hope your DD has also learned that she shouldn’t repeat things told to her in private, even though it’s understandable at her age.

OP it's not a 'normal' thing to do, and honestly the fact that you've posted on here suggests that you know that. You must have realised the responses you would get so it does seem a bit pretentious to be honest.

I mean you do you but I don't think you can be surprised or offended that people found it amusing.

Sistine chapel lady

Maybe your sister is jealous and feels intellectually inferior.

Or maybe she felt the topic was done, was bored with it, had enough of the history lecture and wanted to talk about something else?