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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have taken my sweet time on purpose...

142 replies

FTM91 · 27/10/2021 18:17

(light-hearted just curious) In a service station McDonald's car park changing my baby on the front seat, so door open and me tending to her meant the space next to us couldn't be used (if that was completely unreasonable of me then fine)

The car park however was probably about 70% full...there were at least 6 empty spaces I could see from where I was standing and then some.

Woman drives in and decides she wants the space I'm stood in. She pulls half way in and REVS her engine loudly to make herself known. This pisses me off, so I take my time making sure every single thigh roll is sparkling clean, carefully apply barrier cream, put on new nappy...you get the gist. I then pick her up so revving lady can see I have a baby to faff with and maybe would wish to choose a different space. Nope she chose to sit there the entire time we strapped in and settled baby into the car seat. When she pulled in she gave me the weirdest sarcastic smile.

So:

YABU: Woman should be able to park wherever she chooses and if she wants to rev her engine and wait then so be it.

YANBU: any normal person would have just gone to a different space once they realised, and the revving was rude.

OP posts:
M4J4 · 27/10/2021 21:00

@Summerfun54321

Why are people falling over themselves trying to think of ways to criticise the OP for being harassed for just taking up some space in the world?! Honestly if you hate mums and babies that much, go find a different forum to vent on. OP had every right to be in the car park doing what she needed to do to get herself and baby sorted however long that took.
I’m with the OP 100%, but your comment is nasty and completeky unnecessary @Summerfun54321
OnTheBoardwalk · 27/10/2021 21:01

Were you a customer at McDonald’s?

If you had to pay for a parking space would you have paid for the two spaces you were using?

Yes she could have parked in another space but how could you know those spaces were more accessible to her than the empty space next to you?

Fanackapansy · 27/10/2021 21:02

She only gave you that rude sarcastic smile because she knew she’d been a twat and was trying to save face.

5zeds · 27/10/2021 21:07

I think your behaviour was odd. Presumably she could have beeped or flashed her lights or shouted out the window to get your attention but reviving doesn’t seem worse than that to me. Why didn’t you shift the baby to the next seat across and get in so she could park? I’ve had five children and would never have purposefully inconvenienced someone like that.

chaosrabbitland · 27/10/2021 21:19

its a car park so even if there were other spaces free , she had decided to park in that one . in all fairness she doesnt have to park in a different one because you have decided to faff about in a car park changing your baby rather than in the changing rooms . its not like you were putting shopping away or strapping a child into a car seat . your lucky it wasnt me as id have just used the car horn repeatedly rather than revving

Gimlisaxe · 27/10/2021 21:23

Its threads like these, where I really hope the other person uses MNs and sees the thread and gives the other side to the story

2Two · 27/10/2021 21:35

@BigYellowHat

How annoying.

For the other driver. The world doesn’t revolve around you because you have a baby.

But it also doesn't revolve around that driver just because she wants to park in a particular space but can't bear to wait
Ratched · 27/10/2021 21:37

I just want to know what a sarcastic smile looks like.

Maybe a rueful one?

An 'oh bollocks, didn't realise what you were doing, thought you were being an arse' smile?

2Two · 27/10/2021 21:37

@Pandaly

Bit silly to expose baby to the cold longer than needed to make a point though.
The weather's been pretty mild today.
5zeds · 27/10/2021 21:40

But she did wait. I mean what choice did she have? I’d have waited too, but the reason I park in particular places isn’t always obvious to other car park users.

Pandaly · 27/10/2021 21:42

The weather's been pretty mild today. has it? It's not been warm enough for me to leave my DC's bum exposed to the elements longer than needed if I were to do a nappy change here. But appreciate OP might be somewhere warmer.

She was might have been smiling because you took so long and she thought you were finding it tough?

Pandaly · 27/10/2021 21:42

She might be a creature of habit and that's her regular spot

2Two · 27/10/2021 21:49

@5zeds

But she did wait. I mean what choice did she have? I’d have waited too, but the reason I park in particular places isn’t always obvious to other car park users.
What choice? How about the choice to move to one of the empty spaces visible from that part of the car park?
Ilovechristmasasmuchasiloveyou · 27/10/2021 21:53

@BigYellowHat

How annoying.

For the other driver. The world doesn’t revolve around you because you have a baby.

This.

You are being massively unreasonable!

5zeds · 27/10/2021 22:01

@2Two as I said the reason someone else wants a particular place in a car park isn’t always obvious to all. Perhaps she has less obvious constraints like I do?

TravelDreamLife · 27/10/2021 22:09

This happened at my DC school recently. There's a car park, all spaces run parallel to the entrance so no advantage. Was letting my DC out of the car & heard something..... a car was determined to get into space next to me & had pulled in so far they were 50cm behind my knees & inching forwards to intimidate me into moving faster. Plenty of parks available. I didn't take longer, but deliberately didn't hurry, either. I got bags out of out of the front on my side instead of passenger side, which I normally would. I refuse to react badly or enable the behaviour & might teach them to choose an empty park next time.

NormanStangerson · 27/10/2021 22:40

I had something weird happen like this, except I’d parallel parked in on-road parking and was changing my baby in the boot.

There was a massive space behind my car, easily space for two other cars, and a bloke pulled into the space behind and then aggressively drove up to me where I was standing behind the car clearly changing a baby, revved, then inched so close the back of my knees was inside a foot from his bumper. I struggled to get my pram out he was so close. It was such an act of aggression and I didn’t and still don’t understand it. He’d left space for 1.5 cars behind him. It was not a busy road as it was expensive to park on.

KilledByWitches · 27/10/2021 23:03

This happened to me once at Ikea.
It was stupidly quiet, over half the car park empty. Got back to the car, loaded my motherlode of shit I didn't go in for purchases and sat in my seat to eat my hot dog and message DD.
Woman is sat in the space behind revving and gesturing, in the end I tell her im not going but she's still at there. Twenty minutes or so later I leave and she lurches her car into my now vacant space.

It was baffling. I cant even use the 'drive through because it's easier' argument as there were three dozen of those spaces all around me.
Only thing I could think is maybe it was her lucky space. Nowt as weird as folk.

5zeds · 27/10/2021 23:19

@KilledByWitches that IS weird

Belledan1 · 27/10/2021 23:41

My husband was waiting for me in morrisons car park and there were loads of spaces. When I got back he had to drive forward so I could get in as the car had parked so close. He said the woman who had parked there knocked our door when she got out as the space so tight and gave him a dirty look. We were there first and there was an empty space to her left.

BurntO · 27/10/2021 23:46

I don’t know a single sane person who would rev their engine for a parking space when others are available. What a sad life they must have

BurntO · 27/10/2021 23:58

@5zeds you have five kids and think “shifting the baby to the next seat” to change is a good option? Do you drive a bloody bus? It take 40 seconds, why there is such a fuss i have no idea.

5zeds · 28/10/2021 00:11

@BurntO I’m not sure what the issue is with moving a baby to change its nappy so you can get out of the way? Changing a baby doesn’t take two parking places. I’m not sure the relevance of the size of car unless you’re suggesting there was no way the OP could do anything else than fill two spaces in a car park?

Lalliella · 28/10/2021 00:40

You were a bit petty. Could you not have gestured to her about what you were doing?

k1233 · 28/10/2021 01:07

Did she rev the car or did a cooling fan kick in because she was idling? My car has a fan kick in whenever idling and it revs the engine.