In a family quarrel, a man felt compelled to support his wife’s position. However, his mother became unhappy with him for doing so, so he resorted to the internet to see if he was correct.
A man turned to Reddit for assistance about his expectant wife and his mother’s birthday. He mentioned that his mother’s birthday coincided with his seven-month-pregnant wife’s discomfort and sensitivity.
The man volunteered to take his mother to dinner for her birthday, and she chose a restaurant that was a forty-minute drive away. The man informed his mother that he didn’t want to travel that far because his wife felt uncomfortable traveling long distances by car.
He also explained to his mother that his wife could only eat a small portion of the menu because it was a seafood restaurant and she could not eat shellfish. He then requested his mother to choose a neighboring restaurant.
The man’s mother refused, saying the only good seafood restaurants were farther away. The man then suggested that his mother choose a different cuisine, noting that they had Mexican and Hibachi near them, which he knew his mother loved.
The man’s mother became angry and told him his wife could stay home while they went to dinner. She found it startling that a grown woman couldn’t stay home alone for a few hours while her husband went to dinner.
After telling his mother that his wife wouldn’t be pregnant forever and asking her to work with them, his mother told him to forget about it and yelled that her birthday was not about his wife. The man responded, “My wife comes first.”
The man also accused his mother of being selfish and childish, and she hung off the phone. This resulted in the man’s family telling him he was mistaken, and his wife crying since the entire family was furious with her for ruining her mother-in-law’s birthday.
The man asked netizens if he was justified in standing up for his wife and asking his mother to reschedule her birthday plans. He received a mixed response from other Reddit members.
One commenter informed the man that his reaction was justified, and they were glad he was standing up for his wife. They then questioned if his mother treated his wife in this manner on a regular basis, to which he said yes. The man also claimed that his mother’s fiancée had taken her to the restaurant, which he perceived as enabling her bad behavior.
Another netizen informed the man he was incorrect for implying that the issue was his wife’s responsibility, and that they would not have stopped their spouse from going somewhere they didn’t want to go while pregnant. The respondent also stated that their husband would not have blamed them if he did not want to go there.
One opinion was that the man should have told his mother he was sorry he would miss the event and let his mother feel however she felt. The person suggested offering coffee and cake at home instead of going out for dinner.
Some netizens were confused by the post, wondering why the man’s wife factored into his mother’s birthday as he didn’t say they were both treating his mother to a birthday dinner. They asked whether or not his wife didn’t want him to go anywhere while she was pregnant.