Woman Calls Out Parents For ‘Gatekeeping’ Being Tired
It's no secret that parenting can be a pretty tiring job, no matter how many kids you have or how old they are.
No one denies what a tough job being a parent can be. The problem is that sometimes, there is a divide between childless adults and their friends who have children. A divide like one woman experienced after an awkward encounter with some of her friends
Looking For An Unbiased Opinion
As usual, the place to go on the internet for advice seems to be Reddit.
If you have a situation where you need a third-party opinion, Redditors are ready to comment on your life's problems. That's why Reddit user destinedspoon shared her story to the AITA community.
A Demanding Job That Wears On Her
The woman writing the post notes at the beginning of her story that she has a very demanding job.
"I work long hours, never really get to turn off, and have a bad contract that means unemployment is always looming." She writes that sometimes by the end of the week she can barely keep her eyes open she's so tired.
Wanting A Little Support From Her Friends
Recently, she was hanging out with some of her friends and mentioned that she was "struggling" at the moment because it was a particularly busy time for her work.
She told her friends she was excited for a day off because she was "bone tired" and was looking forward to sleeping. That makes sense, right? You're tired, you want a rest—that's totally valid.
She Didn't Receive The Reaction She Was Expecting
Rather than offering kind words or support to their friend, the three women she was with all began to laugh.
All three women have children who are under the age of 6, and they said that she didn't "understand the meaning of tired."
You Can't Complain If You Don't Have Kids, Apparently
One of the women went on to say that a week in the life of her child-free friend would be "like a holiday."
They also added that she shouldn't complain about being tired because "childless people have it so easy."
"You'll Get It When You Grow Up"
They went on and on about how she doesn't understand what it's like to be tired, "telling me how hard it is to have kids."
The final straw was when one of them said that when she "grows up" and has a family, she'll realize how stupid she sounds.
The Woman Was Upset, Understandably
After the verbal lashing she received from her friends, this Reddit user was pretty annoyed.
She proceeded to tell her friends that "they don't have a monopoly on being tired" and that if it was so damn hard to have children, "maybe they shouldn't have kept having them." To top it off, she added that "having kids is not something you deserve a medal for."
The Moms All Left
The ending to the awkward and frustrating conversation was all of her friends leaving.
One of the women in the group later messaged her to say that she was being "unfair" and that she'd feel bad once she understood, so she should apologize. Her response was not an apology. The Reddit user responded by telling her friend she was being patronising, and to leave her to sleep.
A Difference Of Opinions In The Friend Group
The woman admits in the post that she doesn't feel like she's the one who was wrong in this situation, but since her friends' opinions are split, she wanted more insight.
"Unsurprisingly," the divide among her friends is split pretty evenly between the childless friends who support her and the parents who think she's wrong.
Parents And Childfree Redditors From Everywhere Agree On The Ruling For Her Dilemma
Her friends may think she's in the wrong, but none of the commenters on her story do.
Everyone is tired, everybody is dealing with their own things, and there's no need to compete with people about who is more tired for whatever reason. Also, her friends don't really seem like good friends, so maybe it's okay if they don't make up?
