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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

when asked how did you sleep, the correct answer is Fine thank you

330 replies

Crumpetdisappointment · 26/11/2023 07:18

my dm stayed with me as were went away for the night to see dd

up early the day of departure, how did you sleep i asked, i had made her a hot water bottle
her answer was she kept being woken by someone going to the bathroom and the light making a noise

i thought that was the wrong answer and sets us off on a bad foot, just lie surely?
obviously that someone may well have been dh who does use the loo at night but he doesnt put the light on, nor does he flush
i came downstairs at 4.00 am myself due to early waking , possibly caused by DH but I never complain

would you have lied in this situation or is it fair enough to complain?

OP posts:
AutumnCrow · 26/11/2023 09:59

It seems pretty obvious, on a reading of OP's posts, that this all about her mother having form for making passive aggressive and possibly quite rude digs at OP's husband, who has a medical problem that he can't help that causes him to make nocturnal bathroom visits.

If she'd opened her thread with a post along those lines, things would have been a bit different, I expect.

OP needs advice on being able to see the wood for the trees, regarding her mother's remarks. I'll volunteer the 'oh dear, that's unfortunate, never mind, would you like a cup of tea?' type of response in the meantime.

everythingthelighttouches · 26/11/2023 09:59

But OP, it absolutely wasn’t hypercritical of your mother to answer the question “how did you sleep”.

Not at all.

Are you willing to accept that your DH disturbed her sleep?

willWillSmithsmith · 26/11/2023 10:00

Pigeon31 · 26/11/2023 09:13

I assume she's used to living on her own and not having other people in the house at night, because people getting up to go to the loo is just a thing that happens. They can do their best to be quiet but having lights turned on is better than someone falling downstairs in the dark and having an accident.

They could do what I do which is use the light on my phone to show me where my feet are going (so it’s facing more down, not in people’s faces).

Ffsnotaconference · 26/11/2023 10:01

User0000009 · 26/11/2023 09:56

Exactly this ^

Fair enough if you are asking someone you aren’t particularly close or know well.

If the person you are asking is a family member, the assumption is that you actually care. Not simply asking out of politeness.

People do ask these questions wanting honest, even if lengthy answers. Especially if it’s a close family member.

Do you never, genuinely, ask someone how they are? Ever?

HappyFestivus · 26/11/2023 10:01

I can’t stand this weird game playing. If someone asks me a question I’m going to assume they’re being genuine so I’ll answer honestly. How is anyone supposed to know whether you genuinely want to know or if there’s some secret answer they’re supposed to give.

When I’ve asked this question of guests it’s because I really wanted to know and made changed based on their feedback. I also honestly cared about how they’d slept.

FreshWinterMorning · 26/11/2023 10:02

I don't think you're horrible @Crumpetdisappointment but I do think you're being ridiculous. You can't ask a question, and complain when the person you are asking doesn't give you the answer you want, and say they should have given a different answer. Confused

Not everyone is a people pleaser, Some people are. Some people aren't.

FoxClocks · 26/11/2023 10:03

I don't think you should have to lie but you don't need to lay blame on someone with comments about the bathroom. Just say you woke a couple of times.

everythingthelighttouches · 26/11/2023 10:03

AutumnCrow · 26/11/2023 09:59

It seems pretty obvious, on a reading of OP's posts, that this all about her mother having form for making passive aggressive and possibly quite rude digs at OP's husband, who has a medical problem that he can't help that causes him to make nocturnal bathroom visits.

If she'd opened her thread with a post along those lines, things would have been a bit different, I expect.

OP needs advice on being able to see the wood for the trees, regarding her mother's remarks. I'll volunteer the 'oh dear, that's unfortunate, never mind, would you like a cup of tea?' type of response in the meantime.

No it doesn’t. There are no other examples of the mother having digs at the husband given at all.

What is clear to most reading this is that the OP is hypersensitive and has an unhealthy attitude towards how to relate to people.

and so far, a complete unwillingness to consider that DH might have been noisier than necessary.

Ffsnotaconference · 26/11/2023 10:04

AutumnCrow · 26/11/2023 09:59

It seems pretty obvious, on a reading of OP's posts, that this all about her mother having form for making passive aggressive and possibly quite rude digs at OP's husband, who has a medical problem that he can't help that causes him to make nocturnal bathroom visits.

If she'd opened her thread with a post along those lines, things would have been a bit different, I expect.

OP needs advice on being able to see the wood for the trees, regarding her mother's remarks. I'll volunteer the 'oh dear, that's unfortunate, never mind, would you like a cup of tea?' type of response in the meantime.

I disagree.

Op clearly says in the first posts that he likes disturbed her. But that she wouldn’t complain. To her own husband he is disturbing her sleep.

There’s every chance the her opinion that her mother is ‘hyper critical’ is actually simply just ‘my mother is not an extreme people pleaser like I am’.

FreshWinterMorning · 26/11/2023 10:05

@LadyMacB · Today 07:20

Yes, I’d have lied and said “fine”.

The same approach I take to “how are you?” questions - “fine”, or “all good thanks”, which are sometimes true, sometimes not.

No-one asks these questions wanting an honest or lengthy answer.

Eh? Confused If someone asks me how I am, I will only say 'fine' if I am. I am not going to say 'fine' if I'm not fine! If they ask how I am and I am not fine, then I'll say as much, and I will say why.

Don't ask if you don't want to know. How bizarre! Confused

AutumnCrow · 26/11/2023 10:06

Or maybe ... if I were staying with close family and my daughter's husband was repeatedly going to the loo all night, I'd ask if he was OK and show some concern for his health, given it's a symptom of a number of quite serious health conditions.

cmaalofshit · 26/11/2023 10:06

YABU to ask a question to which you have already decided there is a correct answer "Fine, thanks!"
Don't ask the question if you don't want an honest answer.

You don't need to ask the question anyway because you know what the answer to the question is before you ask. It's "Fine, thanks!" or similar.

I've caused offence a couple of times in my life when people asked me a question expecting me to answer in the way they wanted and I answered the question thinking it was a genuine question.
I can remember it happening at work once and me getting an absolute bollocking. I was asked if I wanted to go on a particular course and said I would rather not for reasons X,Y and Z. Got my head almost ripped off because "I wasn't asking. I was telling." In which case they shouldn't have asked "Would you like to go on X course?" and should have said "There's this course coming up and we need you to attend because X,Y and Z"

If you ask a question you can expect the person to answer in the way they see fit.

FreshWinterMorning · 26/11/2023 10:07

Did your mother make you an 'extreme people pleaser' @Crumpetdisappointment ?

Is this possibly the reason you are annoyed by her, resenting her etc?

Whinge · 26/11/2023 10:07

AutumnCrow · 26/11/2023 10:06

Or maybe ... if I were staying with close family and my daughter's husband was repeatedly going to the loo all night, I'd ask if he was OK and show some concern for his health, given it's a symptom of a number of quite serious health conditions.

And how would you do that without mentioning (or complaining if you're the OP) that he woke you multiple times in the night?

MeinKraft · 26/11/2023 10:08

Maybe she was too tired to lie after a night of being woken up by people constantly going to the toilet/getting up for the day at 4am.

Dweetfidilove · 26/11/2023 10:09

This is so weirdly combative and whiny for someone who doesn’t like people complaining ☹️.

All the misplaced shame, angst and offence.

Glad it’s all resolved now though and the day can go on.

Itwasafterallallaboutme · 26/11/2023 10:12

Crumpetdisappointment · 26/11/2023 07:18

my dm stayed with me as were went away for the night to see dd

up early the day of departure, how did you sleep i asked, i had made her a hot water bottle
her answer was she kept being woken by someone going to the bathroom and the light making a noise

i thought that was the wrong answer and sets us off on a bad foot, just lie surely?
obviously that someone may well have been dh who does use the loo at night but he doesnt put the light on, nor does he flush
i came downstairs at 4.00 am myself due to early waking , possibly caused by DH but I never complain

would you have lied in this situation or is it fair enough to complain?

Good morning @Crumpetdisappointment.
Please can you explain why you asked this question in your opening post when you didn't actually want an honest answer:

"would you have lied in this situation or is it fair enough to complain?"

although having read all of your posts up until now (8.00am), I think I can answer my own question 🙄

You - presumably - often (hopefully not always) ask questions that in your head only have one right answer, and if you don't receive the 'correct' answer from the person/people you ask, then you get annoyed, and their answer puts you in a bad mood?
I ask that question because many PP's have already told you that in their opinion (which you asked for)

a) You shouldn't ask a question that you don't actually want a truthful answer to.
b) Your DM was not being rude to either you or your DH.

I am sorry OP, because I am going to make another presumption - which I am very happy to have an honest reply to.

I presume that you had a particularly bad childhood for which you directly blame your DM? If that is the case, then please don't read past the end of this paragraph for my response to you. Instead, if you haven't already done so, please consider having counselling rather than doing what I have done, which is to spend the past 50 odd years trying to push all the negative thoughts about my childhood into tiny boxes buried deep in my mind.

Dear Crumpet, as you are still reading this, may I suggest that you are harming yourself far more with your own negative reactions to simple responses from those you have asked questions of, than the honest and perfectly fine answers that you have received in this thread should be capable of. As you probably don't want to discuss any of this with your DM, could you do so instead with your DH, or trusted friends? If you are not mainly content, and often happy, with any serious aspects of your life, then I am suggesting again that maybe you would benefit from some professional counselling.

I am really sorry OP if I am treating your thread far too seriously! I suppose that I don't want you to spend your life growing more and more narrow minded, and taking things from other people in a way that was never intended by them.

In case you are still reading this Crumpet, I would like to suggest a couple of practical actions that your DH could take. One of your posts suggests that he is already taking medications for his possible bladder problems, which suggests that he does indeed have a medical condition that affects his urinary health. If that is so then I agree with you when you mentioned that his meds might need tweeking, so he should return to see either his GP or specialist asap.

I hope that if your DP does have a medical condition that either directly affects your DH's bladder, and/or kidneys, or a condition that can have urinary problems as a side effect, that he has been given helpful advice on what, when, and how much fluid intake he should have. Obviously having things like caffeinated, or most alcoholic drinks, within a few hours of going to bed, should be avoided by everyone when possible. We all know that once past babyhood, water is by far the safest and healthiest liquid we - who are lucky enough to live in well developed countries - can drink. But it is my understanding that in some cases it is not advisable to even drink a lot of water too close to bedtime. However, if your DH is seeing a specialist about his condition, he should have already been strongly advised about everything to do with it, including (or especially) his fluid intake.

May I ask you another question OP (I will assume yes, although I am not even sure that I don't mean it more as a refective question, rather than one that I think you should answer on a forum like this)? You seemed to me to be more annoyed for your DH's sake, rather than for yours, that your DM gave you an honest answer to your very normal question about how she slept?

You appear to think that your DM - or anyone really - could be blaming him for his need to frequently urinate over night? However, say for example that your DH didn't have a medical condition that affected his urine output, and say he drank several pints of beer before bedtime, then yes, he probably would be to 'blame' for his frequent visits to the loo, and the remedy for that should be reasonably easy to 'fix'. Although if beer is his fluid of choice, the one that he uses for quenching a raging thirst, then again he needs to see his GP asap, to find out what is causing that thirst.

If your DH does have some sort of medical condition that is causing his frequent bathroom visits, then he is not to 'blame', and neither he nor you should be embarrassed about it. I know that what I am about to suggest now would be rejected by a lot of younger people, and some men of my age too, but for the sake of a more peaceful night for all of the household, including your husband, it might be a good idea for your DH to keep one or two of those urininal "bottles" (that are often used in hospitals) beside his side of the bed. As well as not disturbing the rest of the household, it should mean much less disruption to your DH's sleep as well. He could keep them in a discreet open bag, along with a packet of wet wipes.

I am so sorry that this is so long OP! I can easily understand that seeing it's length even before you started reading it, may have stopped you from reading it, which means I will have spent two hours one finger typing purely for 'fun', and the only person I can blame for that, is me 🙈 🙈🙈

zingally · 26/11/2023 10:18

If your own mother can't tell you the truth, then who can?

It's just those British manners coming into play. I've found myself saying, "oh, not bad thanks" when I've been asked how I am, when actually I'm feeling like a steaming pile of cow dung.

Crumpetdisappointment · 26/11/2023 10:22

thank you @Itwasafterallallaboutme
i dont take offence at all, i have read your post.
agree that dh should reduce fluids, not beer that is being drunk, it is decaffeinated coffee. and visit the GP, and i realise i am taking offence on his behalf, i dont want the two of them to be at loggerheads. big sigh.
its done now.
he realises it is an issue

OP posts:
Nowherenew · 26/11/2023 10:24

I don’t understand why you asked if you didn’t want to know the real answer?

If I was staying at a strangers house then I might lie to be nice but if I was at my mums house I wouldn’t lie.

I think it’s odd you think lying is better than being honest.

If she’s staying again, I’d make DH aware that it might wake her but tbh she probably couldn’t sleep anyway and could just hear every little noise, so I wouldn’t feel bad about it.

billy1966 · 26/11/2023 10:25

I'm with you OP, I never sleep in either of my SIL's houses. Very old houses with mattresses that are 60 years old and a bit bumpy. They are rarely slept on.
I barely get a wink but would always say I slept great thanks. It wouldn't occur to me not to. I like my SIL's and I doubt those mattresses will ever be replaced anyway. I have taken a sleeping pill the last time which actually did help a lot.

"Don't ask a question you don't want an answer to" is a great trick.

One of my children is a bit of a moaner so I have learned to simply not ask at times 😁

Jimmyneutronsforehead · 26/11/2023 10:25

As an autistic person I hate it when people ask questions or say things that they don't mean.

YABU. Say what you mean, mean what you say.

SleepingStandingUp · 26/11/2023 10:26

Crumpetdisappointment · 26/11/2023 07:31

it just makes the host feels bad

Geez you sound awful.

The host asked the question they didn't like the answer to. Get there onto Trip Advisor.

Actually no, you asked your Mom a question, she was honest, and you were a brat.

Maggiethecat · 26/11/2023 10:27

Dweetfidilove · 26/11/2023 10:09

This is so weirdly combative and whiny for someone who doesn’t like people complaining ☹️.

All the misplaced shame, angst and offence.

Glad it’s all resolved now though and the day can go on.

That’s the problem though if you don’t express yourself when there is an issue. You end up resenting people who do.

Crumpetdisappointment · 26/11/2023 10:28

SleepingStandingUp · 26/11/2023 10:26

Geez you sound awful.

The host asked the question they didn't like the answer to. Get there onto Trip Advisor.

Actually no, you asked your Mom a question, she was honest, and you were a brat.

you dont sound like my type of person either tbh

OP posts:
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