What has MN taught you?

[TobyLerone]

I've learnt a shitload of stuff!

~ That it's possible to buy frozen, chopped onions
~ That there are people who drink more wine than I do
~ That my relationship is amazing and that my DP is a wonder
~ That I'm even more judgemental than I thought
~ That everyone is judging me all the time, and how little I care
~ That I should meal-plan
~ That I should be grateful every day for my health and that of my family
~ That I should be grateful that my DC will eat whatever is put in front of them

And mostly

~ That it doesn't matter what someone needs, someone else will know the answer/how to get it. Or will just do a bit of handholding until everything's better.

1. There are some lovely people who do not judge you for choices or grill you for doing something they wouldn't.
2. Sadly there are people who do judge and grill and think they are doing a better job.
3. Never tell someone how old your weaning child is on the weaning board. You will be charged, sentenced and then hounded by the 'what on Earth brigade'.
4. National guidelines mean jack shit.
5. There is a whole world out there. I naively thought MN was for just us Brits.
6. Nobody has the same pregnancy and childbirth. Sadly there are people who cannot transfer that thought to parenting - especially weaning!
7. If you want a giggle to uplift you, someone always has a funny story.

Gas lighting

Fruit shoots are evil. As are Greggs. As are MccyD's. Amazing they are still profit making companies.

There's war between BLW and spoons.

Taught me how to knit squares and some shapes claiming to be squares.

Trolls don't all live under bridges awaiting goats

West Wing has a lot of fans. As does The Archers.

That you can undo double-knotted shoe laces by tugging on one lace

Well smoothie i didn't know that and i'm an ex teacher and minder of L.O.s are you sure???

100% sure! I unlaced my Converse trainers from a double knot by pulling on one lace just this morning!

Yes to lots of these.

That threads like this always teach me something I've so far missed.

That I'm not the only odd one (eg feeling sorry for inanimate objects-lonely potatos/saying sorry to things I bump into etc!)

That I'm probably odder than I realised in other ways!

That women will do amazing things for other women who they don't even know 'just because' (secret santa/hug in a blanket etc)

That women can be vipers yet still do the above.

That my EX is just like every other EA and it really wasn't me

SN board is a brilliant resource of info and also support.

MN is better than google, its like google with live and interactive reviews!

That there is always someone in a worse off situation than you and that you should count your blessings (I already knew that but MN confirms it regularly)

Loads more.

Blimey there's another reason to love MN but I wished I'd known earlier (all those years undoing DS's bleedin trainers!)

to trust nae fucker
and only words on a screen
and some of you are outrageously funny and well observed

I've learned:
that I don't have to be a lonely Scandi-crime-on-TV fan, and also, when the next one is starting.
that you only need to use half the amount of any household chemical to get perfectly OK results
you can read advice, but in the end you have to plough your own furrow (especially when removing vinyl-painted woodchip wallpaper)
how the other 99% lives

Agree with all of BettyS's list!

That I'm not the only mother who get's fed up with her dc in the summer holidays-this saved my mental health.

lots of stuff I wish I'd never learned

That there are other women out there who are intelligent and funny and still interested in the rest of the world now they have dc.

Veet for unblocking drains
Friday is bumsex night
Gaslighting
That sausage rolls from greggs invoke such passion
That it was EA, FA, and SA and it wasn't my fault
That Jesus and Mohamed deliver for Ocado but I can't remember their vans
That a bunch of amazing women and men can reduce me to tears for their random acts of kindness
That some people have renamed their wifis to things that made me snort and hoot with mirth
That finding a shopping list could be so much fun

Wow, that when in a very dark place you can find fellow mums who have been through it and can tell you when it starts becoming bearable.
And to buy a Limbo.
And that having a prolapse aged 35 isn't the most hideous thing that can happen.
And that people REALLY HATE their child's teachers and that my parents probably talk about me loads!!!!
And that I love mumsnet.

Oh everlong that makes me You OK? PM me if I can help or you want to talk

Oh everlong - who has upset you. Shall I punch them for you?

MN has made me much broader minded.

And made me laugh, very, very hard.

And waste lots and lots of time.

I hope I didn't upset you on the 4x4 thread the other day, everlong ?

If I did I'm sorry

( I'm not very good at remembering names so for me it's usually a more general feeling of friendly support than having specific friends here )

I wondered if it was the 4x4 thread? We need ours.

That thread ended up (predictably) as a bit of a car crash

That it's now normal for parents to stay at other children's birthday parties.

That some people wash bath towels after every use. (i still think they must all have grown up in luxury hotels. Seriously useful info though - alert to govt policymakers and water companies, never mind hosepipe bans, focus on excessive laundering!)

That some people don't wash their bath towels after use.