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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to feel irritated by MIL’s barbed comments about gardening?

30 replies

letsmowthelawn · 22/03/2026 13:38

I always thought I got on reasonably well with MIL but I’m not so sure now. Lately there have been a number of comments which feel a bit barbed and I’m starting to feel a bit irritated, so that’s the context.

This morning DH was mowing the lawn and MIL started tittering and said ‘oh now … when you bought this house I remember asking who would do the gardening and you said YOU’D do it!’ She was tittering and giggling to herself all the way through this and I’m honestly not sure whether I was supposed to be amused by my slovenly gardening ways or what.

I am not going to say anything; we don’t see a lot of them so I don’t want to cause a ruckus and besides it’s not a big deal I suppose. But I’m wondering if others would have been a bit irritated or am I a bit prickly at the moment?

OP posts:
SarahAndQuack · 22/03/2026 13:42

As a one-off it doesn't sound awful; I can imagine it gets very tiresome if there's a constant stream of similar comments.

My own mum is one of those who always imagines her sons are super hard-working, bearing the brunt of running the household, and it is very tedious to hear. I think it has to do with the generational shift - does your FIL perhaps do very little around the house, so she imagines that all the household tasks are 'women's work'?

My two favourite options are either blank incomprehension ('oh ... why would you think that ...?' with a deeply puzzled look) or pretending she's said something positive and agreeing with it ('oh yes, he loves lawn mowing, I leave him to it!').

Malinia · 22/03/2026 13:42

Mowing isn't gardening. Gardening is dealing with the plants. Mowing is just maintenance.

Tableforjoan · 22/03/2026 13:42

Eugh one of those people always waiting to throw something back in your face.

also lawn mowing isn’t really gardening that’s just basic maintenance.

PullTheBricksDown · 22/03/2026 13:41

I think I'd be irritated by that too. But the best way to deal with someone trying to irritate you is not to give them the satisfaction of seeing it. Just blank these comments.

BreakingBroken · 22/03/2026 13:40

Mowing the lawn isn’t gardening. It’s part of home maintenance.