Meet a husband who just wants to spend time with his wife.
He scores tickets to a great concert and even plans a free night away for a much-needed break.
But instead of a relaxing date night, he gets a guilt trip and an empty seat next to him.
Classic.
Check out the details!
AITA For not fixing my wife’s “mom guilt”
My wife (33F) and I (35M) have been married for 4 years and have 2 sons (3 & 1).
With two young kids and both of us working full-time, we obviously don’t get a lot of time for ourselves and even less for the two of us as a couple.
We’ve had maybe 2 “dates” since our youngest was born.
My wife has at least been able to attend a couple of her friends’ weddings, but I haven’t had social time just for myself in probably 6-months.
Look at the time…time for an outing.
My wife has been lamenting our lack of social lives and asked me to plan something for us to do as a couple because she doesn’t have the mental energy for it.
A few weeks ago I saw that one of her favorite bands is playing a show in a town we used to live in before we got married.
We still have friends there so I reached out to them to see if they would want to attend the show with us.
They agreed and even offered for my wife and I to stay with them for a night so we wouldn’t have to drive home after the show.
Wow. What a plan!
I told my wife about it and instead of being happy or excited, she immediately went off about how we have no one to watch the kids, we’ve never both been away from them for a night, etc.
I told her that I had already asked my parents to come stay with the kids for a night and they were excited for it.
But my wife kept going off about how our kids haven’t been sleeping well, what if X, Y, or Z happens, etc.
The brain of a mom of little ones is exhausting.
I did my best to calm her down and asked her if I should just cancel the whole thing because it doesn’t sound like she’s on board with my idea.
She said she wants to do it, but she’s just worried about leaving the kids for a night.
I told her that this plan is literally exactly what she asked me to do but if she doesn’t want to do it, then we can cancel.
She again said she didn’t want to cancel.
Well, the concert was this past Saturday.
My parents arrived Friday so that they could have a night with us and the kids at home to get familiar with our routine.
Everything went fine that night.
Thank heavens.
But, the next day as we were getting things packed up and ready to go, my wife became hesitant.
Instead of packing, she was running around asking my mom and dad a bunch of questions related to the kids.
I tried to get her to focus on the concert and seeing friends, but I couldn’t do it.
Eventually, I asked her if she still wanted to go. She said she wasn’t sure. She told me she was feeling guilty about leaving the kids overnight.
I told her that we both need to have time for us to behave like adults, and this is our chance.
She then told me that I should just go by myself because she doesn’t think she will enjoy herself.
Oh no.
So, that’s what I did. I went and saw friends and spent the night and had a great time.
When I got home the next day, my wife was upset with me. She told me she didn’t think I would actually go without her.
She said having my parents there without me was uncomfortable for her.
She told me I should have done more to soothe her “mom guilt” so that she could’ve gone with.
When mom guilt hits, the only thing left on the agenda is a solo concert and a very confused set of parents.
Reddit is siding with Dad.
This person says Mom can choose not to go, but she can’t be angry at his choice.
This person thinks Mama bear needs some medical attention.
And this person is proud of him for getting out there and having fun, regardless of the situation.
Maybe next time, he should just plan a night out with his couch and TV.
I hope his wife gets some help and can let loose soon.
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