Right, I apologise that this is so tedious, but it is a perfectly genuine AIBU - I have no idea, and as it happened I did rather wonder what MN would say.
I have a long bus ride to work. It is always busy, and this morning - weary after a bonkers few months, headachy, PMT-y and with sore feet - I was thrilled to get the last .
I was just settling into my book when a mother got on with 2 children, one about 4, the other about 3.
They were bonny, bright, cheerful kids, fairly biddable, but obviously (and who can blame them) mighty fed up with standing on a crowded bus.
The mother didn't seem particularly distressed or flustered, but obviously maintaining contol of 2 small children on a busy bus is not easy. There was a lot of "No, don't sit down. No, there aren't any seats. Hang on to your brother. No, hold the strap. I SAID DON'T SIT DOWN. Would you rather we walked, hmmmmm? I SAID COME BACK HERE!", that sort of thing.
They were right next to me and I was fully aware that if I gave up my seat the 2 children could have sat there together and the mother would have had an easier time of it.
But I didn't. My head hurt, my eyes were swollen with weariness, my feet ached, and I was in a terrible grump, and altogether thought that although the children were not Having Fun I needed my seat more than them.
Does a mother with children trump an able-bodied (if 'ageing', sore and weary) adult every time?
For the record, if I see a pregnant woman, someone elderly or disabled, or a mother who is in a right old state for whatever reason and could desperately do with a kind face, I would always bounce out of my seat.
Was I being unreasonable? Rarely for AIBU, I genuinely want to know, and am willing to be told.