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Woman Shows Up Unannounced Thinking That DIL’s Being Unfaithful To Her Son, Finds Out She Was Just Gaming
Overly intrusive parents have been a problem for their own children for all time. Just imagine how much happier Romeo and Juliet’s story would be without all their toxic family background! And there are actually lots of such sad and even sadder tales.
Many parents, unfortunately, consider it acceptable to intrude into the lives of their adult children, imposing their own rules of behavior on them, from the point of view of their own life experience. At the same time, they, alas, do not think that what was and is natural for themselves is far from being so granted in the modern world.
A similar conflict almost turned into family drama for the heroes of this post in the AITA Reddit community, which in just a few days has collected as many as 16.1K upvotes and more than 1.1K comments. As you can see, this topic was very close to many people, so they were extremely supportive of the Original Poster.
More info: Reddit
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The Original Poster and her husband are real game addicts and spend most of their spare time gaming together
Image source: The IET (not the actual photo)
The Original Poster and her husband are big fans of video games, which is very common these days. As it turns out, their parents have not supported the children’s hobbies since childhood, so both the wife and the husband are used to coming up with various tricks so as not to tell relatives that they are playing.
Image source: True_Tap_5721
One day, the OP found out that she was pregnant
The OP and her husband work remotely and often play late after work. In general, as the OP herself says, they spend almost 95% of their time together, so even if one of them wanted to cheat on their spouse, they would not have the physical opportunity to do so. However, neither OP nor her husband have ever experienced such a desire. Especially since the OP found out recently that she was pregnant.
Image source: True_Tap_5721
The couple used to hide their hobby from their relatives as they didn’t want to be subjected to their judgement
So that relatives would not annoy them and impose their point of view, the couple decided that Sunday in their family would be “an inaccessible day.” They tell their parents that they go to meetings and arrange dates for themselves, while they usually sit down and play. On one of those Sundays, this very story happened…
Image source: True_Tap_5721
The MIL visited the OP’s house at the moment she was playing her next match
The OP’s husband decided to go to a gaming cafe with friends, and his wife, being pregnant, decided to stay at home and sat down to play in the morning. And on that very day, the mother-in-law decided to visit them. She called her son, but he told her out of habit that he was hanging out in a bar with friends. Then the woman went to their house – just in the midst of the OP’s next match.
Image source: True_Tap_5721
When the OP finally opened the door, she faced accusations of cheating on her husband
The MIL was knocking and ringing the doorbell – and the OP was very addicted to the game, so she decided not to open it until the match was over. After about 20 minutes, the match ended and the OP opened the door, lying that she was fast asleep and didn’t hear the knocks and the bells. In response, her MIL suddenly accused her of cheating on her husband, and stated that the child she was bearing was probably not from him.
Image source: True_Tap_5721
When the OP’s husband came home, they had to tell his mother that they just spend their time gaming together
The OP listened to these accusations and it was really funny to her – after all, the MIL did not know that she and her husband really spend almost all their time together. And that, respectively, inflamed the MIL more and more. When the husband returned, his mother immediately declared that his wife was cheating on him. Then the spouses had to tell her everything about their gaming addiction and explain that they are almost always together.
Image source: True_Tap_5721
Image source: Helena Cortés (not the actual photo)
However, the mother-in-law was still indignant – this time because she had been deceived for a long time, and that the OP allegedly pretended that she had an affair, never correcting her before she told other people. Nevertheless, according to the OP herself, her husband’s mother had no reason to interfere in their own business at all.
Most of the commenters agreed that the MIL had no rights to intrude on the OP’s life
The vast majority of people in the comments think the same way. According to them, MIL sounds toxic, and the fact that OP and her husband like to play is actually their own business, which has nothing to do with their parents. They are adults, and absolutely do not need other people’s opinions about their hobbies.
The only thing the commenters would like to recommend to the OP is not to devote all her free time to gaming during pregnancy, as this can really negatively affect the development of her child. But in general, all commenters are in complete agreement that the OP and her husband should decide for themselves how and what they are addicted to.
We believe that you also have something to say about this narrative, and perhaps you have experienced something similar yourself. Either way, please feel free to express your point of view or tell your own story in the comments.
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What do you think ?
Lizzy Crit 2 years ago
My first born at age 2 slammed her little fist on the desk and said "damn it" when she was sitting on dad's lap and he died in a COD match. I can play WoW one handed with either hand from breastfeeding the youngest while raiding. A couple hours of gaming after the kids are asleep is no different than settling in to watch TV, and it's harder to mindlessly eat with your hands occupied and more engaging to your brain. It was a social support network for me when the husband was on 12 hour night shifts and I was home alone with 2 small kids. Now they're in college and high school, and are gamers too. Weird how that happened. Daughter likes first person shooters, son likes simcraft. I look forward to gaming with the grandkids when we're all living in different places. Community is where you make it.
Winter's Dream 2 years ago
This! I was this kind of parent. Now I'm playing with my granddaughter
Load More Replies...
Iifa A. 2 years ago
Oh my god adults that are into gaming instead of drinking, hooking up, draining parents or living with parents. Are adult parents still so oblivious to the world we live in that they feel the need to dictate their old fashioned ideas on adult children. Gaming has been proven to be beneficial in many aspects of social life, and many professionals use gaming to stay on top of their skills such as pilots, surgeons, teachers etc. Technological advancements have increased our need to be integrated into this world and regardless of people saying "in our time we played outside" it isn't, we don't live in pass. And all those parents should think back and consider what was available for entertainment at their childhood and what is available now. Also consider that children born this year will be gaining employments in areas not active yet. Certainly my profession didn't exist, and to stay on top of my skills I use gaming (wasn't fan until 2020). It is beneficial to new generation growing. NTA!
Allison B 2 years ago (edited)
I'm a 34 year old gamer and have been playing since the 90s! There's no problem with gaming as an adult! And for this I'd definitely say NTA! She needs to set major boundaries with the in laws. And people saying OP and her husband addicted to gaming? I'd have to disagree! It's not like it's affecting or interfering with their jobs or lives in a negative way. They're just big gamers. Maybe it's because I don't have kids but I don't understand why people were saying it'd affect her pregnancy to game? Am I missing something?
Well-Dressed Wolf 2 years ago (edited)
OP herself referred to her and her husband as gaming addicts. And if she sits in front of a computer all day, and doesn’t eat properly or holds in her bathroom needs because she’s in the middle of a match, or doesn’t get proper sleep because “just one more match”, then gaming WILL affect her pregnancy. I’m not saying she’s doing any of this, but as a 40-year-old who has been playing games (obsessively) since the age of 5-6 (we had an Atari…), I know exactly how damaging “too much” gaming can be. In my 20s, I was in a Battlefield 2 “army” where we would have skirmishes/battles and you were expected to be there for 8-10 hours, and you’d get rank-demoted if you left at any point. It was REALLY bad for my family/friend relationships and I’d go hours without eating or drinking (if I drank water I’d have to pee…) It really wasn’t good for me, physically, emotionally, or mentally. Pro gamers (like pro WoW raiders or pro League of Legends players) game a lot as a career, and even they have boundaries, scheduled breaks, etc.
Load More Replies...
Lizzy Crit 2 years ago
My first born at age 2 slammed her little fist on the desk and said "damn it" when she was sitting on dad's lap and he died in a COD match. I can play WoW one handed with either hand from breastfeeding the youngest while raiding. A couple hours of gaming after the kids are asleep is no different than settling in to watch TV, and it's harder to mindlessly eat with your hands occupied and more engaging to your brain. It was a social support network for me when the husband was on 12 hour night shifts and I was home alone with 2 small kids. Now they're in college and high school, and are gamers too. Weird how that happened. Daughter likes first person shooters, son likes simcraft. I look forward to gaming with the grandkids when we're all living in different places. Community is where you make it.
Winter's Dream 2 years ago
This! I was this kind of parent. Now I'm playing with my granddaughter
Load More Replies... Iifa A. 2 years ago
Oh my god adults that are into gaming instead of drinking, hooking up, draining parents or living with parents. Are adult parents still so oblivious to the world we live in that they feel the need to dictate their old fashioned ideas on adult children. Gaming has been proven to be beneficial in many aspects of social life, and many professionals use gaming to stay on top of their skills such as pilots, surgeons, teachers etc. Technological advancements have increased our need to be integrated into this world and regardless of people saying "in our time we played outside" it isn't, we don't live in pass. And all those parents should think back and consider what was available for entertainment at their childhood and what is available now. Also consider that children born this year will be gaining employments in areas not active yet. Certainly my profession didn't exist, and to stay on top of my skills I use gaming (wasn't fan until 2020). It is beneficial to new generation growing. NTA!
Allison B 2 years ago (edited)
I'm a 34 year old gamer and have been playing since the 90s! There's no problem with gaming as an adult! And for this I'd definitely say NTA! She needs to set major boundaries with the in laws. And people saying OP and her husband addicted to gaming? I'd have to disagree! It's not like it's affecting or interfering with their jobs or lives in a negative way. They're just big gamers. Maybe it's because I don't have kids but I don't understand why people were saying it'd affect her pregnancy to game? Am I missing something?
Well-Dressed Wolf 2 years ago (edited)
OP herself referred to her and her husband as gaming addicts. And if she sits in front of a computer all day, and doesn’t eat properly or holds in her bathroom needs because she’s in the middle of a match, or doesn’t get proper sleep because “just one more match”, then gaming WILL affect her pregnancy. I’m not saying she’s doing any of this, but as a 40-year-old who has been playing games (obsessively) since the age of 5-6 (we had an Atari…), I know exactly how damaging “too much” gaming can be. In my 20s, I was in a Battlefield 2 “army” where we would have skirmishes/battles and you were expected to be there for 8-10 hours, and you’d get rank-demoted if you left at any point. It was REALLY bad for my family/friend relationships and I’d go hours without eating or drinking (if I drank water I’d have to pee…) It really wasn’t good for me, physically, emotionally, or mentally. Pro gamers (like pro WoW raiders or pro League of Legends players) game a lot as a career, and even they have boundaries, scheduled breaks, etc.
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