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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to have left my parents’ house without saying goodbye

136 replies

LoveCameDownAtChristmas · 15/12/2025 08:32

Until lockdown my parents were proud early risers. They regarded lying in as utter laziness. Anything later than 6:30 was indulgent, and after 8:00 was greeted with a ‘good afternoon’ and a warning that we were missing the best part of the day. They retired just before lockdown and during lockdown they turned into proper night owls and are not up until after 9:00. They don’t seem to realise this though and still say what larks they are and how early they get up.

This weekend my husband and baby were all at my parents house, and I said that we’d need to leave at 8:30 on Sunday because we had tickets to an event and needed to get there on time. They replied ‘oh well you know us, we’re up with the larks’ and similar when I reminded them before bedtime we’d be leaving at 8:30. Predictably when we were leaving they weren’t up and there was no signs that they were awake so we left to go the event. I had a text asking where we are, and when I said we’d left my mum said it would have been nice to say goodbye and hasn’t engaged with the photos I sent of the event, and hasn’t messaged her Wordle score to me either (which sounds small but we both have a 1000 day streak and have sent our results to each other since the pre NYT days) so I’m pretty sure she’s grumpy with me. My dad has also been quiet and not replied to the photos in the group chat either. It’s making me feel bad but i don’t know what else I could do because the event was expensive and a sellout so I couldn’t rearrange or let it go.

OP posts:
schoolfriend · 15/12/2025 09:21

How odd. They knew when you were leaving, if they wanted to be up they should have set an alarm. I wouldn't have woken them either, that would have felt rude.

collectkdsasmed · 15/12/2025 09:22

What did she say when you reminded her you needed to be gone at 8.30am and you didn’t want to wake them?

BunnyLake · 15/12/2025 09:22

Mumofoneandone · 15/12/2025 09:17

You knock quietly on their bedroom door and go in and whisper goodbye or you leave a little note.
I wouldn't disturb my parents if it was ridiculously early but 8.30 isn't!
You've been quite rude and whilst your parents being sulky isn't ideal, you've upset them by your actions.
If you were staying with friends would you just 'walk out'?!

Why would they have not set an alarm and got up themselves to see off their own daughter and gc? They’ve been calling the shots for too long imo.

figud · 15/12/2025 09:23

I think how you responded to her first message is important/if you text her first/left a note. If Id made a choice to not wake my mum and she’d then said I wish you had, I’d be apologetic. I’m not talking about grovelling but an acknowledgment that I made the wrong call + thank you for having us etc. Your whole ‘up with larks’ thing sounds a little defensive.

Italiandreams · 15/12/2025 09:23

I would have assumed that as they knew what time you were leaving , they weren’t bothered about a big goodbye. Personally if people were staying at my house and leaving at 8:30 I would have made sure I was up to say goodbye. It’s fine that weren’t , as a guest I wouldn’t be bothered but I would also not think to wake them as I would assume they had made the choice to sleep.

schoolfriend · 15/12/2025 09:23

Brefugee · 15/12/2025 08:58

It seems that so many people here have weird relationships with their families, especially older parents.
I have a very good relationship with mine, and so they would have been up giving us a hand making breakfast or getting the DCs ready.

In this scenario, if they had still been in bed i would have taken them a cup of tea between 8 and 8:15 and said goodbye properly, because i like them and they like me.

this is MN where YMMV

In this scenario, if they had still been in bed i would have taken them a cup of tea between 8 and 8:15 and said goodbye properly, because i like them and they like me.

In this scenario I wouldn't have woken them up, because I like them (and they like me) and I would assume they wanted the extra sleep (otherwise they'd have set al alarm).

ShawnaMacallister · 15/12/2025 09:25

I'd have knocked on their door to wake them and say goodbye personally. I'm sure they didn't mean to oversleep and would they have minded?

PinkyFlamingo · 15/12/2025 09:25

I don't understand why you are feeling bad?

Lurker85 · 15/12/2025 09:26

They’re probably just embarrassed and angry at their feathers being plucked. By leaving when they are still asleep, you have revealed them to not be the larks they are so proud of being 🤣

CalculatingCrispen · 15/12/2025 09:33

Lurker85 · 15/12/2025 09:26

They’re probably just embarrassed and angry at their feathers being plucked. By leaving when they are still asleep, you have revealed them to not be the larks they are so proud of being 🤣

Agree!

Some people are so proud of being early risers, no-one ever says proudly "oh I sleep until 10am, me! Midday if I am really going for it" (apart from my son...)

Maddy70 · 15/12/2025 09:38

Presumably you text or left a note saying everyone was in bed when we left. See you soon?

HoskinsChoice · 15/12/2025 09:38

Daysgo · 15/12/2025 08:35

I presume you left a note on kitchen table explaining?

This. Perfectly acceptable to leave early but very rude not to say thanks and bye in a quick note. The waffle about what time they get up is entirely irrelevant.

Franjipanl8r · 15/12/2025 09:40

You told them what time you were leaving and they didn’t bother waking up. Are your parents always grumpy with you over incredibly petty things like this? You seem like you’re treading on eggshells worrying about something’s that’s a very minor issue.

Sartre · 15/12/2025 09:42

Of course YANBU. You told them the day before when you’d be leaving, it was up to them to get up if they wanted to see you off. It would have been rude to walk into their bedroom and wake them.

HatAndScarf33 · 15/12/2025 09:43

I'd have left them a note or messaged them just saying that you had to go as planned and didn't want to wake them and thanks etc... I think just to leave with no goodbye - written or text message, probably felt a bit cold.

They're being precious about it though. They knew when you were leading and didn't set alarms to make sure they were up and about, which is fine, but they can't then be surprised that you left when you said you were going to.

Luxio · 15/12/2025 09:43

HoskinsChoice · 15/12/2025 09:38

This. Perfectly acceptable to leave early but very rude not to say thanks and bye in a quick note. The waffle about what time they get up is entirely irrelevant.

Surely if we're thinking about what is very rude then it's the OPs parents who were very rude for saying they would be up and then not bothering to set and alarm to say goodbye...

No need for a note when they knew what time she would be leaving.

LadyMacbethssweetArabianhand · 15/12/2025 09:46

I can't imagine leaving my parents home without saying goodbye to them. However I can't imagine not getting up to say goodbye to visitors when they were leaving.

Driftingawaynow · 15/12/2025 09:46

How childish and rude of them to blank you. You’ve done nothing wrong.

Solost92 · 15/12/2025 09:50

Surely you replied "we told you we had to leave at 8.30 and you were still in bed" and that's the end of it. Flip it on them, be annoyed with them they couldn't be arsed to get out of bed and say goodbye.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 15/12/2025 09:50

‘Sorry, but I did tell you we’d have to leave early, and I really didn’t want to wake you up.’
If they still choose to sulk, so be it.

rwalker · 15/12/2025 09:54

Did you leave a note or text ?
if not a bit rude but not worthy of a fallout

CloudBuster66 · 15/12/2025 09:58

Yes they're having a massive sulk. What big babies.

The only thing is, I would have knocked on their bedroom door and shouted goodbye. It's hilarious that they've completely switched from being larks to lying in till 9 yet they still insist that they're early risers 😂

EnterFunnyNameHere · 15/12/2025 09:58

From an outside perspective, it feels like it could have been sorted with an "oh, sorry, I thought you were aiming for a lie in as you didn't seem to be up so tried to sneak out without waking you!" type reply - but might be too late for that now... I guess you either leave them to it, or just try to clear the air... something like "I'm sorry if we upset you by leaving without saying goodbye, we thought you might be having a lie in as we hadn't heard you get up and thought we were being kind by leaving quietly" or something?

skyeisthelimit · 15/12/2025 10:04

You had told them the time that you were leaving, so the onus was on them to be up by that time to see you off. Presumably you had already said "thanks for having us etc". Hopefully you reminded them of that when she threw a strop.

You couldn't make yourselves late for a ticketed event just because they couldn't be bothered to get up.

Tdcp · 15/12/2025 10:08

They knew what time you were leaving, they should have gotten out of bed if they wanted to say goodbye. This is their deal just let them get on with it.