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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To take what I think has been hinted at for while and not bother?

25 replies

RawShark · 13/07/2012 06:37

First time poster so forgive me if I use actual words rather than handy acronyms. I just need to know whether to bother with this friendship or consign it to the ?smile inanely and talk inconsequentially? when we happen to meet pile (growing bigger as I get older!)

Some dull information about my boring existence background: my friends tend to organise themselves a) on a very ad hoc basis or b)an incredibly organised one requiring notice periods of several weeks, so I am fairly flexible with how I deal with people.

When I had my DS (now 18 months)I met another mum in hospital. We got on well although I noted she could sometimes be a bit hysterical take things a bit too much to heart. We went to a lot of classes where I introduced her to a friend and we talked regularly about how our moods, relationships etc had been affected by motherhood ? on average we met about once a week over a year.

Since we returned we haven?t met up as much ? normal you would think ? although I noted via FB and glimpses (not stalking, honest) she was often in my neighbourhood seeing the mutual friend mentioned above. Having tried the ad hoc meeting basis (she was always busy) I reclassed her under b) and organised to go to a free event 5 weeks in advance via email with mutual friend. The email was along lines of ?DO you want to go here on this date? to which she replied ?that date is good?. To clarify ?mutual friend? relationship fine as we text/meet-up at other times.

So time passes and I email a few days before the date to which she replies that she?s not free now as she?d made plans as she?d not heard back ?sorry?. I email back to say did I not mention it at that event up the road from me that you didn?t tell me you were going to the party? To which she replies very formally that "it was not mentioned" and that from the emails it is obvious we didn?t have a firm date and they have been having a hard time (her husband out of work for about a month, which is a situation I?ve been in too and I didn?t stop seeing my friends)

OK I think - she thinks I am having a go so I email to say that I didn?t mean to upset her and I probably forgot to mention it and I miss her and her LO and that I am upset we aren?t meeting as I thought we had a firm date. And that if she organises something in future we can all be firm on the dates.
I don?t say that she is having such a hard time she looks at this email and doesn?t bother to confirm with me arranges to see someone else and that I am a bit offended she didn?t ring or text me in person to say sorry couldn?t meet up (this is something I always do if something like this happens so the other person doesn?t feel like I am ignoring them). I haven?t told mutual friend either as that doesn?t seem fair.

So far so petty eh? But she has not replied. No word. I hate that she can?t be bothered to send even a one liner so we can at least pretend we are still friends be on good terms. It makes me feel that I am in the wrong and a horrible person but I don?t think I am other than mildly suggesting I had reminded her of a date. Our LOs will probably be at same school and everything, and she knows I am likely to be at events in this area (how much effort is a text?) so it also seems a bit short-sighted (maybe I should add a ?must be logical? criteria to my friends).

Incidentally I only dwell on this when at a low ebb (up since 5 for other reasons today) but I am really rather upset and my plan is never to mention it and chat manically when we meet - but as most people on here I just want to check my behaviour is not unacceptable within the bounds of what I thought was a friendship lasting a year.

OP posts:
Lizzylou · 13/07/2012 06:53

Poor you, I would just not email/text her and be polite but aloof in person
I have had a similar thing happen when my boys were younger. In retrospect she did me a favour, she was deathly dull, a bit weird and there was a reason she had no friends.
It could just be down to your friend having a tough time.

FootballFriendSays · 13/07/2012 07:01

It seems you've done your bit to try and keep this friendship going. I'd let it go now, it sounds like hard work and that it's a source of frustration and uncertainty. If you hadn't had all those baby classes to attend together it might not have been a friendship at all. Sorry to hear you're feeling low, 5 a.m. wakings can wipe you out for the whole day.

SoupDragon · 13/07/2012 07:04

You sound very sneery about her. All those snarky crossed out bits do you no favours. She is better off without you.

bragmatic · 13/07/2012 07:06

I think she's just not that into you. Sorry.

RawShark · 13/07/2012 07:07

You are right Football Friend I was just in denial. It's turned out like a holiday romance - all bonding and heightened emotions shattered as the stresses of everyday life intrude. Smile. I've been reduced to joining the WI to find new friends.......

OP posts:
JeezyPeeps · 13/07/2012 07:11

'reduced to' joining the WI? I was giving you the benefit of the doubt with your post, but you really do sound like you think you are better than a) your 'friend and now b) the women that go to WI.

This might be part of the problem.

RawShark · 13/07/2012 07:12

Soupdragon - so snarky about her that in fact I told her I missed her and went out of my way to arrange meetings. I don;t think a bit of mild snarkery is uncalled for after being ignored for weeks. You are obviously a better person than I am.

OP posts:
CornishKK · 13/07/2012 07:13

Hey, nothing wrong with the WI Grin

For what it's worth I think YANBU, friendship shouldn't be this much hard work and worrying. Do the smile graciously/minimal small talk thing and find some more fun friends.

I'm with you on the 5:00am's this week, grim isn't it!

AmberLeaf · 13/07/2012 07:15

She sounds hard work_friendships should come naturally not be forced like this.

Just let it go and when you're at the school gate stage just smile wave and keep walking.

CornishKK · 13/07/2012 07:16

I read OP's WI comment as jokey. I am in the WI and take the piss out of myself before my friends do.

RawShark · 13/07/2012 07:17

Jeezy peeps - sorry I have given the wrong impression. I really enjoyed the WI! All my firends have laughed at me for going though so I was trying to denigrate myself first, bad habit I know.

Also I have my flaws as a friend quite clearly this is the case with everyone but I don;t think myself better, I just am so upset that I cannot bear to carry on trying where not wanted. however if times really are still tough maybe I should carry on but then she obvisouly doesn;t need my support. In a quandary really.

OP posts:
RawShark · 13/07/2012 07:22

Cornish KK - 5am is indeed pretty grim. ALthough I have to say not as bad a 3am, so things are on the up! It'll be wirsein winter when it's dark Sad

OP posts:
RawShark · 13/07/2012 07:23

"worse in" not "wirsein", just in case you were wondering

OP posts:
NurseBernard · 13/07/2012 07:23

Jeezy - I'm give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you've had a sense of humour failure and usually do recognise an albeit feeble joke when it slaps you about the chops. Wink

OP - what you're saying and what you're obviously thinking about this situation don't quite match up.

You're trying to be all breezy and disinterested and unbothered, but obviously you are bothered since you've started this thread, and you even admit to missing her and her DC - but the way you write about her to us is so dismissive and like you're deigning to make yourself available to hang out with her.

Maybe you just need to be a bit more genuine, yourself, enthusiastic - I dunno, really. Maybe she is picking up on something that some of us are picking up on as well... Can't quite my finger on it - other than the gist of your OP belies your true feelings ove the matter somewhat, if you ask me.

RawShark · 13/07/2012 07:37

nurseb thank you for writing so honestly. I am rereading my email and can see a couple of things that may have come across wrong compared to what is the supporting data in my head.

I woudl rewrite it as I had a good friend who I saw a lot on mat leave. Sometimes she reacted strongly to issues with her son/husband when being relaxed would have been better for her. A handful of times I could not understand her reaction (as friends do) but was always supportive and we got on well and had heart to hearts on various topics. Since going back to work she has been around a lot near my house on her own and also meeting a mutual friend (who has had a really tough time too, and who I text and who texts me back) and never dropped in or told me. She has never texted unless she wanted advice on eye drops or medication or such like. Recently I sent her an email explaining how much I missed her after she couldn't make a meeting and she has not replied. I am really upset Sad

Put like that I think the answer is obvious- not meant to be.

OP posts:
golemmings · 13/07/2012 07:59

Can I be your friend? You write exactly like I do; I could see the meaning here and I also write and use words which undermine my own case and antagonise people when I'm trying to be amusing/play stuff down.

AlmostAHipster · 13/07/2012 08:22

I want to be your friend too, OP. I could have written an OP like that.

FootballFriendSays · 13/07/2012 08:42

Re-written like that it sounds like you were quite close and are affected by her seemingly avoiding you. She works near your home but perhaps she rushes home after work to her baby, no time to hang about in the area. Also lunchtimes may be difficult and she only manages to go out to meet up with this other friend who's having a tough time. It sounds like she's got a lot on her plate just now. Perhaps ring her rather than text/email, the same with the mutual friend.

Springforward · 13/07/2012 08:49

To be honest, if her OH is out of work she probably is having a hard time right now, and I don't think it's entirely unreasonable that she doesn't respond to emails etc. all that quckly. Why don't you call her instead to invite her over for an hour's coffee and chat?

But personally, I would run a mile from any friend who started to complain about how good or otherwise a friend I was - isn't life tough enough without the guilt trips from people who you're suppose to enjoy being with?

NiceViper · 13/07/2012 09:00

I think your words are not in step with what is going on either.

You say that you are flexible, but you rigidly categorise people into ad hoc or highly organised, and then are disappointed in this case when the other mother did not conform to your categorisation. Also, you didn't seem to know much about how the redundancy is affecting her, and again because she did not conform to your idea of how well someone should cope, you are nonplussed.

So YANBU to walk away from the idea of a closer friendship with her. YABtotallyU when you lay out now a whole plan of how you will handle meetings with her over the next umpteen years (another sign that you are actually planning/controlling).

CurrySpice · 13/07/2012 09:04

You are very sarky! Have you upset her somehow?

Hexenbiest · 13/07/2012 09:36

I'd just smile when you meet her and at school gates smile be polite but bit distant if she comes over to talk.

I don't think you've done anything wrong at all - she just not putting the effort into the relationship and you've tried. If her behavior changes in the future you can reconsidered the friendship - right now you need to move on and joining the WI sounds like a great way to meet more people.

Casserole · 13/07/2012 12:21

I think you sound nice, OP.

Sometimes, for whatever reason, friendships break down. It sounds like you've done everything you can to try and keep it going but sadly you're only ever 50% of the equation. Be sad, then move on with your head held high knowing you were a good friend and did all you could. You never know, it might come back at some point in the future.

RawShark · 16/07/2012 09:49

OK I'd just like to say belated thank you (I have had friends to stay over the weekend with kids = general madness) to people who left me considered advice after reading the whole thread (and not just the first post where lack of sleep and hurt feelings DID make me sound QU - although to be fair to myself the "petty" bit was aimed at me not her).

And for those concerned that I had hurt her feelings I can say that I never bitch about her with other people or make snidey comments to her as we are (were?) good friends which deserves more than that (and I wouldn;t do that to anyone anyway) - I just needed to vent, which I did anonymously.

My mild hysteria taking things to heart has settled down a bit now (sleep helped) and I can clearly see that this is my problem rather than hers either way. If my advances are not taken up I will let it decline naturally Sad

Hi to golemmings and almostahipster you sound nice too. However do you think if we were friends we would have too many layers of inappropriate humour and never discuss anything meaningful?

niceviper I don't rigidly categorise people into just two categories I have a whole range up to Z which I find effective. Unfortunately I didn't have enough space to put all of them on here. It is comprehensively cross referenced with all the slights I have ever received as I have to keep this in a filing cabinet in the cellar and it is not easy to access Grin

OP posts:
jjuice · 16/07/2012 11:05

snort at the filing cabinet in the cellar.

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