Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Two-Day Work Trip Turns Into A Whole Thing When Wife Decides Being Alone With 3 Kids Is Unacceptable
Dad looking sad sitting on suitcase at home, reflecting on being away for work while wife handles kids solo

Two-Day Work Trip Turns Into A Whole Thing When Wife Decides Being Alone With 3 Kids Is Unacceptable

Interview With Expert

33

ADVERTISEMENT

Just imagine how great and convenient it would be if our lives were like movies or a TV series! A loud laugh track would tell us we’d done or said something wrong, and loud, ominous music would swell every time a storm cloud gathered overhead. But no, we always have to figure everything out ourselves…

Today, we’re about to tell you the story of how a man who always did his best to help his wife with the kids and around the house was one day confronted with her strange reaction to a seemingly long-agreed upon question. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

More info: Reddit

RELATED:

    Our life is, alas, not as simple as it looks in some movies, so we often have to guess the reasons why our close ones have their mood worsened literally out of the blue

    Image credits: benzoix / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    The author of the post is a dad of 3, and he works at home, so he usually does his best to help his wife around the house and with the kids

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: massonstock / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Recently, the man got an invitation to an important work conference in another city, and his wife supported his idea to go

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: dikushin / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    ADVERTISEMENT

    However, close to the departure, the woman’s mood only started getting worse and worse

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: anonymous

    The woman literally accused the husband of abandoning her and the kids, but rejected his idea of skipping the trip

    So, the original poster (OP) and his wife have three kids, ages 2 to 7, and their mom stays at home with them. The author also works from home, so he always tries to help his wife around the house and with the kids as much as he can. He helps with cleaning, laundry, cooking, and taking the older kid to school – in short, he has every reason to consider himself a decent dad and spouse.

    Recently, the original poster was invited to a work conference in another city. Attending this conference would be important for both for career and professional growth, so he agreed, and his wife readily supported him. Our hero had to spend a total of two nights away from home.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    But as the departure date approached, his wife’s mood grew worse and worse. They got to talking, and the woman cited the main reason for her bad mood as the husband having to miss the anniversary of her mother’s passing, which had happened seven years ago. The OP suggested canceling the trip, but his wife said, “No way!”

    However, our hero is now beginning to suspect that it’s not even his mother-in-law’s memory that’s the issue – she’s now started accusing him of not being supportive enough during the emotionally hard season. So the baffled man decided to just take it online, seeking support and probably some wise advice from netizens.

    Image credits: pch.vector / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    “Apparently, it’s not just some rational arguments on the wife’s part, but something subconscious is at play here,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “Because if this man’s words are completely truthful and he’s not embellishing, then he truly is a supportive spouse and parent.”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    According to the expert, if the trip was already planned, and the wife supported the idea, understanding that its success would impact her husband’s work, then canceling at the last minute would be, at the very least, strange. The expert is sure that the wife herself realizes this, but at the same time, she experiences something akin to an emotional rollercoaster.

    “The changing emotional triggers for criticizing her husband, the worsening mood as his departure approaches – all of this is a reason to seek proper therapy. To understand the real reasons why she acts and speaks the way she does – and to try to find a solution that will suit both of them and be beneficial for the entire family,” Irina Matveeva sums up.

    The overwhelming majority of people in the comments under the original post also expressed their solidarity with the author. Some responders also shared that they are SAHMs too, and that a supportive husband working from home would be a true blessing from above for any of them.

    In any case, many of the commenters sincerely wished the author and his wife a speedy resolution to this problem. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this particular story? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    People in the comments almost unanimously sided with the author, claiming that they really need therapy to solve the tension between the two of them

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Poll Question

    Total votes ·

    Thanks! Check out the results:

    Total votes ·
    Share on Facebook

    Explore more of these tags

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"

    Read less »
    Oleg Tarasenko

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"

    What do you think ?
    Kate Johnson
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sounds to me like wifey needs to go back to working and put the kids in daycare. She's obviously not happy with the SAHM life, so it's best for her to return to working.

    sweet emotion
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Gotta love the emotional blackmail. It isn't like the guy is going off on holiday with his buddies - he's going to a work function that may positively impact his future. And does he seriously think this "burnt out" mom is going to run away AND take her kids with her? Call her bluff.

    Janelle Collard
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Right? It's not like he's going to Greece for a week with his 20-year-old girlfriend!

    Load More Replies...
    LakotaWolf (she/her)
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    I know everyone grieves differently, and that is okay, and there is no timeline for grief, but if OP's wife is having a sudden (and atypical) display of grief and mourning about her mother's death 7 YEARS after it occurred, she should seek therapy or counseling, at least to help her with her grief. I had some delayed-grieving for my dad's death (5 years ago in 2021) because my mom lied to everyone and pretended that he hadn't díed and did not allow me to talk to anyone (IRL or online) about my dad's death. So, even though I was the only one in the family that stayed at his side the night he díed, I wasn't allowed to tell his family members, my friends, post online about it, etc. so I didn't grieve properly until years later. But if OP's wife isn't just using her mother's anniversary of death as an excuse, she does need help with her grief, as a reaction this strongly 7 years later is unusual.

    Load More Comments
    Kate Johnson
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sounds to me like wifey needs to go back to working and put the kids in daycare. She's obviously not happy with the SAHM life, so it's best for her to return to working.

    sweet emotion
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Gotta love the emotional blackmail. It isn't like the guy is going off on holiday with his buddies - he's going to a work function that may positively impact his future. And does he seriously think this "burnt out" mom is going to run away AND take her kids with her? Call her bluff.

    Janelle Collard
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Right? It's not like he's going to Greece for a week with his 20-year-old girlfriend!

    Load More Replies...
    LakotaWolf (she/her)
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    I know everyone grieves differently, and that is okay, and there is no timeline for grief, but if OP's wife is having a sudden (and atypical) display of grief and mourning about her mother's death 7 YEARS after it occurred, she should seek therapy or counseling, at least to help her with her grief. I had some delayed-grieving for my dad's death (5 years ago in 2021) because my mom lied to everyone and pretended that he hadn't díed and did not allow me to talk to anyone (IRL or online) about my dad's death. So, even though I was the only one in the family that stayed at his side the night he díed, I wasn't allowed to tell his family members, my friends, post online about it, etc. so I didn't grieve properly until years later. But if OP's wife isn't just using her mother's anniversary of death as an excuse, she does need help with her grief, as a reaction this strongly 7 years later is unusual.

    Load More Comments
    You May Like
    Related on Bored Panda
    Popular on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda
    ADVERTISEMENT