why do i not like this woman? (big moan)

[misdee]

theres a lady at dd1 nursery whihc really gets to me. Everyday she is moaning about her kids. The other week 2 of hers had chickenpox, she started moaning to the lady in the car next to ours, dh had to shut the window as her voice was bugging him so much. bear in mind, the same week i had chicken pox so wasnt feeling too great myself. i have seen her down the gp's a few times recently, and boy does she go on when her kids are ill. dd1 has had tonsilitus twice in the last month, so has been feeling pretty poorly, she has also had 2 hospital appointments plus a check up at the docs. this women will just stop me and ask outright why dd1 wasnt at nursery, if i reply about hospital appointments she goes on about how her baby was sick after his feed and how she cant cope with 3 kids, so sends one toa chilminder after school and one to an after school club so she can focus on the baby. But tbh i am not interested, i dont like this women, dd1 isnt friends with her kids, they dont live nearby and i have more on my mind than to worry about her laminate floor which she had to use a mop on as her daughter was sick on it (my dd2 regularly throws up on the floor, always used a mop it hasnt done the floor any harm). Maybe i am a little bit envious of her life, i'd love just to worry about a little tummy bug, instead i have to listen to her go on about how her dh has a cold, damn ,i wish dh would only have a cold. Admittingly this women doesnt know the ins and outs of dh and the kids problems (and why should she, i dont like her remember) but i dont want to listen to other people go on about stuff that is minor to be when dh has to be at the gp's for a blood test and they have lost his anti coag book. stupid women.

hi misdee - people like this can be so needy and intense its exhausting! i would try the 'bright and breezy' approach.start to distance yourself from her so she doesn't hook into you and you are left with all the baggage of her day. just say 'hi there, got to go'. if she tries to corner you i would try to keep the conversation as light as possible or redirect her on to someone else - 'have you met...' mean but might work. (i am currently in a situation where i am often asked by one particular mum could i look after her dd while she goes to work -the thing is its while my ds1 is at school, i have a 11 month old ds2 and i work from home - so that doesn't count? it makes me feel sick because i have a real problem saying no!). hey its the weekend so hopefully you'll be safe for a couple of days

I really empathise with you. I feel exactly the same about people going on about minor stuff...dd has had open heart surgery, and the other day somebody was complaining about scars their dd has from chicken pox (a few tiny marks on her back), when my dd has an enormous scar on her chest.
This lady sounds like an annoying cow.
sorry..lots more i wanted to write but dd is screaming..will try to write the rest later

Be overly cheerful - misery loves company, so hopefully that will put her off! I'm thinking a smile and "worse things happen at sea".

Or just be very blunt. "It's a floor woman: get over it."

Or another trick a friend of mine uses. Wait for her to pause for breath (she may not need to breathe by the sound of it)and then say "so?..." or "and?..."

Or just think of all the chocolate bars you can, film titles beginning with "k", anything really, which should give you a suitably blank look.

She sounds dreadful BTW.

ROFL misdee! I feel exactly the same way when people try to out compete on things. Some people are like that- it just demonstrates that a) she has no clue about your life and b) she's not interested and is never going to learn!

Keep away from her!

i saw her yesterday after dd23 had been at the gp's (again). she asked why i looked such a mess. dd2 had just puked in the car and i had been scrubbing it to get the smell out, but all i said was oh *** was sick again' and tried to get away. she then started on about how her baby is possetting still (he is only 6months old, so i think he is allowed to possett a bit) i just said, 'oh i i have to go and pick up perscription' before she could get into a full tirade of her families problems. i feel so sorry for her kids, when she pregnant she moaned about the pregnancy, when her son was born she replied when someone asked how he was 'oh he is a pain' the baby was only a few days old ffs. I dread seeing her, i cross the rd to avoid her, loads of people avoid her too, a friend of mine just wont speak to her as she feels this woman goes on too much.

meant dd2 not dd23, i've not been that busy lol

Some people just don't seem to be happy unless they're moaning about something. One of my mum's friends was like this. She used to complain on the phone for up to 1.5hrs at a time and didn't even pause for breath. My mum used to send us round to the front door to ring the bell so that my mum could say she had to go because there was someone at the door. One time this woman had been moaning for a full half an hour so my mum put the receiver on the table, went and made a cup of tea and then came back. The woman was still complaining and hadn't even noticed my mum wasn't there!