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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

or is DH? Warning: long and arguably petty!

94 replies

moviemadness · 01/11/2012 18:47

OK, this is going to seem silly, but DH and I are bickering over a recent trip to the cinema.

DH's family are not great at communication and not very connected as a family. Instead of them being clear and concise with issues of domestic life, they tend to just put up and shut up or expect everyone else to go along with what they want (depending on who the issue involves) until someone suddenly explodes from frustration and it all comes pouring out in a big row.

DH has of course picked up these habits and is sometimes blind to the effect it can have on a family unit and how it can cause unnecessary problems.

For example, we once stayed with his DM and were paying rent for the time we were there. DH's job has times of the year when things can be very stressful. He had a weeks holiday coming up which everyone was aware of. His mother decided she was going to have the bathroom overhauled without mentioning it to anyone. We only found out the morning the guys came round to do the work. Keep in mind we were paying rent. It caused a huge issue with DH's ability to work at home as well as massive inconvenience during a very stressful work week. Had she simply mentioned that builders were coming to do some work, he could have asked her to hold on a few days till the start of his holiday.

Incidents of complete lack of communication like this are totally normal in his family even though they constantly lead to disagreements in domestic life.

DH doesn't understand that communication even with minor issues is key to having a smooth running and stress free home life.

The other day we decided to go and watch a film.

I asked him how long a film was and he told me an hour and a half without checking.

The film was actually two and a half hours long and it caused subsequent problems which would take too long to explain, but to give an idea, we missed DD's bedtime, I wouldn't have wanted to go let alone take DD had I known.

He does this kind of thing all the time (at least once a week) and I am so fed up. I don't understand why he didn't just check the films run time so I would have just stayed home to begin with.

He says it was just a throwaway response. When he does this though, it can cause all sorts of confusion and stress.

He was on the cinema's website when I asked so could so easily have checked.

I know it sounds petty in isolation, but he does this constantly and I am at my wits end explaining to him that this kind of blaze' attitude to answering simple questions can cause a lot of stress later on.

I am finding this hard to explain.

DH thinks I am BU and that I am seeing his actions as malicious even though they are not.

I just do not understand why he wouldn't check the run time of the film when I asked specifically and I think it is really rude.

AIBU? And does anyone out there understand what I mean? Its so hard to explain.

Its just that a minor thing can spiral, causing larger problems because of one blaze' answer to a question that doesn't require a brain surgeon to answer.

OP posts:
StillSquiffy · 01/11/2012 19:43

You can't change him. You know that, don't you?

You can only change the way you react to him.

Or you can change the situation itself by doing something major.

He might decide to change, but I can't see that happening any time soon.

Whether he's unreasonable or not is beside the point.

MrsKeithRichards · 01/11/2012 19:43

Why did you stand outside? Either go back in and give her another chance to settle or get your stuff and leave or why didn't he come out to see what was going on?

Whole thing sounds bizarre.

That aside I believe your with someone because you love them. I probably have quirks that annoy dh, he annoys me at certain times but we want to be with each other so we see past them.

CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz · 01/11/2012 19:43

It's inconsiderate to answer a question that matters to the other person with a guess without having given it any time to think, or to actually look at the film timings when you are on the FECKING WEBSITE as the OP's DH was at the time she asked the question.

He couldn't be bothered to give her question two clicks worth of thinking time, when he was already on the website, so gave her a guessed answer rather than put himself out for thirty seconds, just to shut her up.

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrgghhhh!

It annoys me immensely to be thought that little about. It's bloody rude!

MrsKeithRichards · 01/11/2012 19:44

Oh check you poppy!

thebody · 01/11/2012 19:48

Movie, I do get you honestly but if you want to stay sane then my best advice is for YOU to check anything serious and just relax a bit more about other stuff.

See I am like your dh and my dh is like you so do get u.

He should at least try though as I do. But then I have other strengths that my dh doesn't.

Look at his good points..

CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz · 01/11/2012 19:49

It's the lack of thoughtfulness. Obviously if the OP asked the timings, she had a good reason for that. How pedantic does her DH need to be if she needs to spell out every reason for every question she has ever asked in single syllable answers to make him see how important it is?

Surely if your partner asks you a question, you assume that question is important to them, and you give them am answer you have thought about and checked, without needing to have it spelt out to you WHY it is important to them?

Constantly having to justify your reasons for wanting to know something is very wearing, and starts to feel suffocating after a while.

I'll bet if it was something important to the OP's DH, he would have checked it out properly. Say, if there was a footy game in after the film and he wanted to be home in time to see it.

So he isn't giving the OP as much thoughtfulness as he would give himself. Hence it being so bloody irritating and upsetting, when it is somebody that is meant to love you.

Jux · 01/11/2012 19:49

If he didn't bother checking the time because he wanted to see the film so badly that he wasn't interested in whether or not it was suitable for the occasion of your child's first cinema experience, then that's one thing.

If he didn't bother checking the time because he couldn't be bothered, that's another.

Neither are good.

I assume that if I ask my dh a question he will give me an accurate answer. This is because I am not a doll who only exists when he switches a switch. I have things I need to do too. We have a daughter who is another separate entity, who has her own needs too.

I say it was pretty bloody disrespectful to not bother to check and a downright lie if he allows you to think he's giving accurate information when he knows he's not. On that occasion he knew he wasn't.

As your dd gets older, the ramifications of these sorts of actions will get worse. He needs to grow the fuck up.

maybenow · 01/11/2012 19:51

Does your DH have to blag or bluff at work? My DH works in a role where he could never ever say he didn't know the answer to something - he would have to make up his best guess answer and hope for the best.

We had this issue with him doing the same, I had to say to him 'do you actually know that?' when he'd blag to me, I spent a lot of time saying to him 'I don't mind if you don't know, just tell me'... luckily I know him pretty well so I can usually tell if he's bluffing and pull him up on it - all it takes is a raised eyebrow now before he'll say 'well, that's probably the answer but I don't know for sure... do you want me to check?' Grin

MamaMumra · 01/11/2012 19:53

Movie, I do get you honestly but if you want to stay sane then my best advice is for YOU to check anything serious and just relax a bit more about

this

diddl · 01/11/2012 19:54

So husband gets out of it because he can´t be bothered to do it properly?Hmm

MamaMumra · 01/11/2012 19:55

maybenbow I agree. DH has to blag at work where I always have to be very clear about what I know for certain and cannot blag or guess. It means that I am very literal in my answers.

moviemadness · 01/11/2012 19:57

Honestly I feel there is a 50/50 split of opinion but I am so relieved that some of you understand how I feel.

I feel like his attitude means he just doesn't give a shit about understanding how this upsets me.

I don't want to change him, I want him to put some effort into compromising with me.

Like if he wouldn't usually be bothered with these types of details, that he would put some effort into caring because he knows that I care, IYSWIM.

I do love him immensely, its just so infuriating!

OP posts:
PoppyAmex · 01/11/2012 20:01

MrsKeith I lost all my tolerance for the week in the 4x4 thread. Good work there by the way Grin

OP I think you don't have to be fatalistic and accept that "he won't change" and you'll have to do everything because he's "too laid back" Hmm keep talking to him and explaining how this makes you feel.

FatimaLovesBread · 01/11/2012 20:05

Why should the OP have to check things, why can't he just do things properly?
He's an adult not a child.

And I don't see why you should have to qualify your question with a reason? If I asked DH something specific, i'd expect the answer to be the same whether I just asked him or whether I followed my question with an exact reason of why I want to know.

Bogeyface · 01/11/2012 20:08

YANBU

If he wanted to see the film undisturbed then it was in his interest to check the timings to make sure that you could take your DD (having said that, at 18 months I wouldnt have taken her at all!). That he got snotty when it was clear that she had to leave is down to his own lack of forethought!

And when you have a child you cant just fly by the seat of your pants so much as when you are child free. I wonder, given that you said he is doing it all the time now, whether this is his kick back at the restrictions of having a child.

Very stupid if it is, because it just makes life harder.

I dont subscribe to the "men dont get it" and "do it yourself" theories either. Is he a man or a child?

moviemadness · 01/11/2012 20:12

Thank you everyone for the reply's.

I think it has become an accumulative issue in our home that I am just fed up of dealing with.

OP posts:
FryOneFatManic · 01/11/2012 20:17

Why should the OP have to spell out everything when she asks a question? She asked a simple question: How long is the film? She doesn't need to justify that or explain any consequences. All she needed was the answer: 180 minutes.

The fact that he was on the website and still guessed rather than bother to actually check was extremely rude and I feel shows disrespect to the OP.

If my DP tried this he'd find the consequences not to his liking......

diddl · 01/11/2012 20:19

It amazes me that some expect so little of their husband tbh.

OP asked how long a film was-when he was on the website?

How ignorant is it that you can´t be bothered to look that up & you make something up?

Even if he didn´t think it was important/relevant-why does that mean that OP doesn´t deserve the "correct" answer?

Sometimes when I´m still in bed I ask my husband what the weather is like?

He opens the blinds, looks outside & tells meShock

MrsKeithRichards · 01/11/2012 20:21

My ds asks what the weather is like when he wakes and I'm like what the fuck do I look like Michelle fish?

MrsKeithRichards · 01/11/2012 20:22

Grin poppy my tolerance ration is gettin smaller by the week!!

Downandoutnumbered · 01/11/2012 20:29

YANBU. Would drive me insane. And to whoever said she needed to spell out that they needed to think about it because of her DD - she's his DD too, and surely it ought to have flitted through his head that if you're going to take an 18-month-old to the cinema it would be best to start with a short film?

sudaname · 01/11/2012 20:31

If he deliberately gave you the wrong answer cos he knew you wouldnt want to go otherwise then l think that's a bit passive agressive tbh. Either that or cant be arsed. But l agree you seem a little too regimented also.

PoppyAmex · 01/11/2012 20:33

MrsKeith never mind, at least we can drive our beastly cars and annoy the world.

Honestly, I really hate the cliche man-bashing thing and I'm pretty easy going but if DH did that to me and then left me waiting with a baby for one hour whilst cosily watching a film I would've gone Rambo on his ass.

Bogeyface · 01/11/2012 20:35

Whats regimented about wanting to make sure than an 18 month old doesnt ruin the evening for him, her and all the other cinema goers?!

I bet you would be the first to moan if a cross, tired and bored toddler wrecked your evening because its parents didnt think ahead!

EndoplasmicReticulum · 01/11/2012 20:46

In my case, I've learned not to take it personally. He really is that laid back about arrangements with everything - yes he is often late to work. Luckily his boss is similar.

He is always late sending birthday cards / presents to his family. But they're the same, so that doesn't matter either.

I think he's made me more laid back (a bit), and I've started to make him more organised. It's taken 21 years though.