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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not be very grateful for unsolicited help

18 replies

egglette · 24/06/2021 16:58

Perhaps that's putting it a bit bluntly but does anyone else feel quite awkward when someone does things you didn't ask for and then makes you feel like you owe them one?!

DP and I are getting married in the next few weeks. Wedding has gone through quite a few changes since we had to postpone from last year and our venue folded.

After the faff and uncertainty we're looking to keep things fairly simple because the main thing is that the people are there, and they have enough to eat, drink and entertain them. Very happy to sort that ourselves - we've got some experience in that kind of thing from our work.

A close family member says it sounds like a lot of work (it's really not) and they're worried we won't be able to do it on our own and will need their help, which will be stressful. We reassure them we will be fine. Roll on a while and they're upset we're not including them in the planning. We say we're fine and don't want to stress them out. They say they want to do something.

We give them a self-contained task (call a company and ask a question). They complete that and we say we're very grateful and that's all we need. We now find they have bought various items and arranged other things they will have to do before the day and now are stressed.

We say there's no need to feel stressed - leave it with us - we just want to keep things simple. They and another family member say we're being ungrateful for what they've done. Argh! You can't win. I don't want to be impolite but equally I don't feel like rewarding that kind of behaviour. I really would have preferred to deal with those parts myself so this actually leaves us in a worse position that we are meant to be grateful for...

OP posts:
CrazyForStew · 24/06/2021 17:01

This is my MIL all over. Spends her life creating situations where she can make other people feel bad and she can play the victim. It is exhausting and we don't see her much because of it.

thatsnotgoingtowork2 · 24/06/2021 17:02

I've certainly been there! They want to be involved and to have input. It's not about you or helping you at all. People get childish about weddings.

If you can, remove the job with many thanks and a bouquet of flowers, and have phone trouble until the honeymoon.

Halliabaloo · 24/06/2021 17:03

Depends who they are! Bride or groom’s parents feeling they should be involved and supporting you get a bit of slack. Someone muscling in on your big day is a PITA

Hawkins001 · 24/06/2021 17:06

Tis a pickle at times op.

tallduckandhandsome · 24/06/2021 17:07

Nip it in the bud and tell them you and DH have a very specific idea of what you want and would just prefer to do it yourself. Ask them to read a poem on the day to mollify them.

BombyliusMajor · 24/06/2021 17:08

OMG this is half my family. Forcing their unwanted and frankly unwelcome 'help' onto people, not taking no for an answer, relentlessly manoeuvring themselves into a position where they can justify feeling hard done by and unappreciated.

I also feel this way as well about people who give gifts for no reason. (Particularly homemade gifts - I never asked you to knit me that pig-ugly jumper / make me that revolting chutney / bake me a grim cake with your children's grubby fingerprints all over it, please don't expect me to wet myself with gratitude)

WellLarDeDar · 24/06/2021 17:09

Maybe I'm cynical but sometimes I think unsolicited help is not about wanting to actually 'be helpful' and more something to do with the someone wanting to be seen as helpful. For my wedding I'm making some of the decorations myself and a family member has bought a load of things for us to use that we don't really like, but they didnt ask us about our tastes or anything! It just came completely out of the blue. Now we feel obliged to use them even though we dont like them! It's sweet and thoughtful but at the same time awkward for us and has just added a something else to the never ending list of wedding things to sort out.

tallduckandhandsome · 24/06/2021 17:10

Reminds me of my wedding where my sibling didn’t offer to help (I didn’t want or expect it any way) but then moaned afterwards that I didn’t ask her to help and therefore treated her like a stranger 🙄

OnASwankyMarleyPond · 24/06/2021 17:16

OMG this is my in laws!! At their suggestion, we held a family celebration at their house and MIL was up ALL NIGHT painting the ENTIRE kitchen the night before 🤦‍♀️ And then caused ongoing tension because I (note I, not DH) hadn’t thanked her enough! Still haven’t got over it years later Grin

IDontReadEyebrows · 24/06/2021 17:24

Argh I feel your pain. My mother does this- brow beats me into letting her help me with something despite her previous record and then complains and gets stressed out which in turn makes everyone else around her stressed out.

CarrieMoonbeams · 24/06/2021 17:32

Yup, I agree, it's not for you, it's for them.

My MIL used to try that when DH and I got married, and it was all so that she could tell her friends all about how we couldn't manage without her, how difficult it was for her to find the time, she was exhausted from burning the candle from both ends etc etc. When actually we didn't need her help at all, we got married young but we were perfectly capable.

As soon as we realised what was going on, we stopped it straight away. DH said that we'd heard she was feeling stressed out with the help that she was giving, and we didn't want to stress her so from now on, we'd do everything ourselves.

She wasn't happy, but we insisted. And insisted again and again.

She now develops mystery illnesses in the lead up to any large family event that isn't purely about her and FIL. It's baffling, she's such a lovely woman, and so kind, but she it's like she wants all of the attention on her at times like that.

I think being firm, thanking them for their help and saying that no more is required, is the way I'd go OP. The key thing is to be firm though.

PromTwink · 24/06/2021 17:33

This is already happening with my mum for my wedding next May.

I said I wasn't going to do certain decorations because I can't be arsed with the stress and faff.

She's insisted that I must have these things and she'll deal with it. I said dont trouble yourself, we're not particularly bothered. She insists on doing it. Now she's very stressed with it. Grin

I continue to tell her we're not bothered and to leave it. She continues to insist and continues to tell us how stressful it is. 🤷‍♀️

Cocomarine · 24/06/2021 17:33

How does asking one question become them having something to actually do? 🤔

egglette · 24/06/2021 17:44

Rumbled @Cocomarine Grin we thought it was quite a safe task to give as it didn't naturally lead into anything else...but they still found a way!

And thank you everyone! So sorry to hear that this seems to be quite common 🙈 the human mind is absolutely baffling at times!

OP posts:
AnneLovesGilbert · 24/06/2021 17:51

@WellLarDeDar

Maybe I'm cynical but sometimes I think unsolicited help is not about wanting to actually 'be helpful' and more something to do with the someone wanting to be seen as helpful. For my wedding I'm making some of the decorations myself and a family member has bought a load of things for us to use that we don't really like, but they didnt ask us about our tastes or anything! It just came completely out of the blue. Now we feel obliged to use them even though we dont like them! It's sweet and thoughtful but at the same time awkward for us and has just added a something else to the never ending list of wedding things to sort out.
It’s not at all sweet or thoughtful if they’re not really doing something for you that’s saved you work and is to satisfy their need to get involved. If they cared about making your life easier they wouldn’t have done it. They’re actually being selfish and overbearing.

Don’t reward the behaviour by giving in. A simple, and repeated, “no thank you, we don’t want x. It’s a shame you didn’t ask us first and saved yourself the hassle because we won’t be using it”. “No thank you”. “No”.

GoWalkabout · 24/06/2021 18:00

Ah, you thought that you had escaped the wedding irritations by having already been through so much pain and disappointment - sad truth is that weddings bring out the absolute worst in people and no one is helpful at all! Just try to relax and enjoy, ignore others feelings being pushed on to you and let go of things being exactly as you want them (hollow laugh - as if any 2020 or 2021 wedding has been how anyone wanted). Congratulations.

PicsInRed · 24/06/2021 18:10

I never asked you to knit me that pig-ugly jumper / make me that revolting chutney / bake me a grim cake with your children's grubby fingerprints all over it, please don't expect me to wet myself with gratitude

Pig ugly jumpers, revolting chutney and grim cake
GrinGrinGrin

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 24/06/2021 18:36

urgh.

My mother does this. drives me up the fucking wall.
sorry OP, I'd recommend firing squad but that'd be frowned upon.

have a lovely wedding

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