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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU? DP thinks I'm a bad person for doing this

503 replies

youmustneverbreakthechain · 22/07/2018 09:50

Long time lurker, first time poster.

This is long, but please bear with me!

I’m willing to be told IABU but I don’t think I have been. I’d really would like some opinions as my partner is currently not really talking to me, apart from responding to my questions arsely, and thinks I have ‘attitude problems’ with regards to this issue. I wrote this yesterday and he’s still not speaking to me properly:

Background: DP has a lovely grown up daughter from previous relationship (ended over 15 years ago). She has a daughter (6yrs), and is in a relationship with a guy (perhaps for two years now although we’ve known him for around 18 months) who also has a young daughter. My DP and I have a DS, (5yrs). We see my DP’s grown up daughter maybe once every month/6 weeks, either just her with her own daughter, or with her partner and his daughter too (but she has often been at her mums when we meet). We all have a very nice relationship together, we all get on well etc.

My DP’s DD invited our son and us to her partner’s daughter’s fourth birthday party, which is, of course, really lovely. I already had booked and paid for a class/event thing before the invite so said I couldn’t, but no problem, my DP was going to take our DS. I had my plans, he and DS had theirs. All good.

Last night DS is sick. Vomiting etc, and this morning still pretty much high temp, sleepy, unhappy. So he sadly can’t go to the birthday party this afternoon.

However, my DP said ‘you know if he’s not better by this afternoon, I’ll have to still go’ meaning that although he was originally taking DS this afternoon, he now wants me to miss my class (that is non refundable and a one off thing - it’s not something that is planned to be repeated) to look after sick DS, so he could go to his daughter’s partner’s DD’s 4th birthday party.

I said that I already had plans that couldn’t be changed, my class/event was not refundable (materials had to be bought) and was a one off. And that I’d still be going. DP was pissed off and thinks I’m out of order. He thinks it is more important that he go to the party and see his daughter, so I said why didn’t he go up earlier to see them, and come back in time, or go and see them for breakfast tomorrow morning (to which he replied ‘don’t be so ridiculous’ although it’s something absolutely viable).

Anyway, he is pissed off, and leaves the house and says he’ll be home in time for when I have to leave for my event. Transpires he’s going to go up there to see them before the party (which I had suggested anyway).

He gets home, still pissed off with me. I go to my class, come back and he’s still pissed off with me. Not engaging properly when I try and talk to him. I ask him if he’s going to be arsey to me all evening. He thinks my attitude is out of order as I should have cancelled my event (losing my money) as him going to the 4th birthday party trumped my class/event and I should have forgone it and stayed at home to look after DS. Later when he’s had a few beers he says he’s started to hate me (because I’m so out of order).

AIBU to have gone to my class/event? I don’t think I am because my event was 1) booked and paid for before the birthday party invite 2) my son (who was the main reason to go, it being a kids party) was ill and he was meant to be caring for him this afternoon originally and 3) that there were alternatives for him to see his daughter and her family (whilst there weren’t alternatives for re-doing my event and it was not refundable).

I am willing to be told IABU (just be gentle with me!) OR is he BU for saying I’m wrong and thinking I’ve got a bad attitude/I’m out of order (and continuing to be being angry with me)? He's starting to make me question myself, am I a bad person?

The ironic thing being his daughter is lovely and would have completely understood the situation.

OP posts:
funinthesun18 · 22/07/2018 18:51

I would be upset if my new partner wouldn’t step in so I could go to my granddaughters birthday party.

And as that “new partner”, I would be upset if my partner wanted to put his grandchildren before our child. Grandchildren aren’t the same as children. Even more so if that child wasn’t even a grandchild.

Bibesia · 22/07/2018 18:59

Slanetylor, you're rewriting things again. You are now saying that OP was wrong based on your view that grandchildren's birthday parties are important. However, earlier you were making up a whole scenario where it was vitally important for her DP's daughter to have him there because she'd never done a party for her boyfriend's child before (despite presumably having experience doing her own child's parties); that she wanted to do the class despite having no intention of taking it any further; and various other assumptions subsequently disproved.

You can't have it both ways, you know.

Slanetylor · 22/07/2018 19:04

The OP says
“she is obviously is no less important. We treat them completely equally - we have been out with her a handful of times when she’s not at her mum's and we ensure attention is equal. We ensured gifts at Christmas were equal, and my parents who haven’t even met her bought her a gift at Christmas as they buy my DP’s granddaughter one each year. It is all very much inclusive”.

I don’t understand really. The OP had a course. BOTH the partner and his son had a party. The son is sick but it is automatically the partner who has to change his plans because the course is pre-paid. That’s all I’m reading here. The son AND the father were invited to the party. There’s lots of threads here about grandparents being upset if they are not included in birthday celebrations. But in this case he is being called all sorts of names. He might deserve it from past behsviour. But I don’t personally know what that past behaviour is.
I’m never an apologist for crap men’s behaviour and I’m not sure how I’ve ended up in that role here.

Bibesia · 22/07/2018 19:09

I didn't say he was going to the party as the driver. He was going to the party in order to accompany his son. And presumably last year none of them were strangers to OP if she'd known the daughter for 6 years and her new boyfriend and his daughter for 6 months.

pictish · 22/07/2018 19:09

Neither am I. You seem to be doggedly sticking to your point for the sake of it. I don’t know why.

youmustneverbreakthechain · 22/07/2018 19:10

Slane I don’t know how many times I’ve had to say to you it’s not a course. Perhaps you aren’t reading my replies to you? It was a one off thing. There are no plans for this to be repeated. His plans were also to be with our DS so in fact that we plan didn’t change. And he still saw them all, just earlier.

OP posts:
Nanny0gg · 22/07/2018 19:10

See, I don't think the OP was unreasonable, however, either 'step' children are part of the family or they're not
And personally I think they are.

Itsallpropaganda · 22/07/2018 19:14

He is being unreasonable. It wasn't his granddaughter's party, if it had been that may be different.

Slanetylor · 22/07/2018 19:15

The op had a thing. What if it was a concert that both her and her son were going to and both looking forward to. Just because both parent and child are going to something it doesn’t mean that both automatically can’t go if one gets sick.
We don’t know what the OPs important thing is. We just have to believe that her thing is more important than her son or grandchild and it might well be. But the OPs partner is totally allowed to be upset.

Bibesia · 22/07/2018 19:16

The partner doesn't have to change his plans, Slanetylor. He agreed to look after his son, he's still looking after his son. That is more important than going to the party of a child he's only seen around 12 times in his entire life.

I think you've ended up looking like an apologist because of your eagerness to make up scenarios that excuse this man. Are you at all prepared to acknowledge the possibility that he was happy to look after his son when it meant taking him off to a party where other people could look out for him and keep him occupied, but not when it meant having to do some actual parenting looking after a sick child?

Slanetylor · 22/07/2018 19:17

Absolutely. But we don’t know.
We haven’t been told that he agreed to care for his child. Merely that both of them were free to attend the party together and that the partner wanted to go to the party.

ConciseandNice · 22/07/2018 19:17

YADNBU. Your course was a one-off. This was a party for a 4 year old and his daughter wouldn’t even have minded. He’s a sulky, passive aggressive ass.

PhilomenaFogg · 22/07/2018 19:18

Have just popped back. Can't believe this is still going and that certain people are still having a go at everyone.... OP and dh have prob made up by now/dh apologisedHmm and the war on here is continuing! Grin

SoyDora · 22/07/2018 19:20

We haven’t been told that he agreed to care for his child. Merely that both of them were free to attend the party together and that the partner wanted to go to the party

Confused the OP had prior arranged plans, so you’d take from that the partner was going to be caring for his child, no?

Bibesia · 22/07/2018 19:22

No-one is suggesting that OP's course is more important than her son. There is no suggestion that, if her son had needed her, she wouldn't have given up her class immediately. The point is of course that he didn't need her because his father, who was supposed to be looking after him, is perfectly capable of doing so. It's simply that he's having a major sulk because he fancied doing something else and OP wouldn't roll over as she usually does. He's allowed to be upset, in the sense that anyone is allowed to be an immature twat at times. However, telling OP that he hates her crosses a major line.

BewareOfDragons · 22/07/2018 19:22

OF course he effin agreed he was going to care for the child that day ... OP had plans that she'd booked and paid for and that he knew about!

The party invitation came after she'd made her plans.

Slanetylor · 22/07/2018 19:26

But I do understand why something already booked should always have priority. A wedding invitation might come AFTER youve booked a concert. It not then AUTOMATIC that you don’t go to the wedding. Most people can adjust plans as family life evolves.

Slanetylor · 22/07/2018 19:27
  • do Not understand
Bibesia · 22/07/2018 19:28

We haven’t been told that he agreed to care for his child. Merely that both of them were free to attend the party together and that the partner wanted to go to the party.

Making it up again, Slane? They weren't free to attend the party together: OP had already booked and paid for her class. And if he hadn't agreed to look after his child in that scenario, who on earth was going to do so?

hayli · 22/07/2018 19:29

But I do understand why something already booked should always have priority. A wedding invitation might come AFTER youve booked a concert. It not then AUTOMATIC that you don’t go to the wedding. Most people can adjust plans as family life evolves.
the father was still available to lookafter his son - what was agreed upon so whats so hard to understand that plan sidnt need to be changed for op?

SoyDora · 22/07/2018 19:30

No one is saying something should always have priority. They’re saying in that these particular circumstances it should. And the point the PP was making about it being pre booked is that it implies that the DH has agreed to care for their son. Who else would have done it?

Bibesia · 22/07/2018 19:31

But why on earth should OP's one-off class not have priority, slanetylor? There was no reason why her partner shouldn't take his child to the party without her.

Slanetylor · 22/07/2018 19:31

grand.

Worriedworry · 22/07/2018 19:33

This is all a bit strange.

OP YANBU.

I don't understand how anyone can think you are BU. Whether DD's boyfriend's DD, step grandchild or grandchild he should still have missed the party to look after his own son.

Anyway it's all done now and whether you were BU or he was BU is a red herring when he's saying things like he said to you.

That is the issue here.

What are you going to do?

AtrociousCircumstance · 22/07/2018 19:39

Yes agree with PP. You really are absolutely NBU and the issue is, what are you going to do now? With this partner and his ‘small-scale’ abuse, which is still happening (hence his crackpot, nasty, entitled, irrational reaction)?

Flowers OP.