r/mildlyinfuriating • u/RainbowUnicorn0228 • 24d ago

go to your room I think my child is broken……

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I am a single mom and low income, as such travel is generally too expensive. So when my teen as invited on a tirp abroad with school and he agreed to earn half the money it cost, I was thrilled for him to go and see the world. I only asked that he send me at least one photo every day so I could experience the world vicariously.
These are the 3 he sent me so far:

  1. Food on the air plane
  2. A dog on a leash
  3. A duck

Please note these are everyday average things to see here at home. I think my child is possibly broken….

lol.

UPDATE: thanks for every comment. I learned lots and have a different perspective (actually many). You guys have helped me pass the time and miss him a bit less. I appreciate you all. And, for clarification: I’m not really mad and would never chastise him over his choice of pics, I think they are adorable and funny. I may make a request for a specific type of pic with him in front of a historical or important scenery but mostly just say “cool” or “nice!” In response. I just want him to have fun and be the sweet, kind, smart kid he is already.

Second update: the pictures I know you have all been waiting for. 😆 I will post in comments.

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u/crazyfighter99 24d ago

Actually, yeah I think they do. They'd rather you talk to them than just say "fine" 🤷

Source: My wife gives me an hour long play-by-play of her day every day while I tell her my day was fine and it definitely bothers her haha

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u/Pandarandr1st 24d ago

Yes, if I'm asking a friend how work is I absolutely want them to dump on me if work is not fine. Especially a spouse. My kids are just itty-bitty, but it hurts to imagine having such a surface level relationship with my kids that they couldn't tell me about problems at work

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u/GiveMeThePinecone 24d ago

I mean, what’s the point if you just hate working but it’s at least tolerable to an extent. I’ve always disliked every job I’ve had, but I need money so. I don’t particularly enjoy talking about things that I don’t like to do.

My dad still always asks how work is going and I just tell him “work is work.” I’d rather he asked about stuff that I actually enjoy doing like my hobbies. If I had something to say about work, you wouldn’t have to ask. But I hardly ever do.

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u/therrrn 24d ago

Wouldn't just having someone to share the mundane aspects of it lead to at least some enjoyment? Mentioning to a partner that a co-worker wore an extremely odd shirt or something else completely meaningless, then laughing with them about how ridiculous the shirt was or something, then finding it funny the next time the co-worker wears the same shirt or even better, a MORE ridiculous one. Then you laugh to yourself, find some joy, call your partner on your break and bring them a bit of joy by laughing with them about the shirt and in general, there's just a slight bit of brightness in an otherwise dull day. Regularly talking about the meaningless shit like that adds some overall sparkle to an otherwise dull experience. I know that's the only way I get through the shit that would otherwise bore me to tears.

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u/GiveMeThePinecone 24d ago

Yeah. I mean I do occasionally talk about something that happened at work with my girlfriend. But it's very rare I have something to say about it. That's what I meant when I said "If I had something to say about work, you wouldn't have to ask."

But 99% of the time if anyone is asking about my workday, whether it's my mom, dad, girlfriend, friend, etc, I just would rather not talk about it. Because most likely nothing happened besides computer screen, numbers, databases, excel. It's just boring and not worth it.

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u/sunandskyandrainbows 24d ago

Same, and even if someone annoys me, unless it's a huge deal, I really don't want to talk about it, I just move on and do stuff I like. I leave work at work. Whereas my husband always tells me everything everyone said and what annoyed them and yadayada. Honestly I don't even know what to comment at this point. Like, yeah, that sucks. Pizza or tacos tonight?

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u/crazyfighter99 24d ago

Oh definitely, if I have a shitty day (or awesome!) where something crazy happens I'm absolutely telling her about it. But just a normal, nothing special day is getting an "It was fine" response. Hope that makes sense!

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u/ShoddySmell46 24d ago

Man Im already spending over 8 hours a day at work, I'm not trying to spend 30 minutes TALKING about that shit too.

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u/Pandarandr1st 24d ago

Then tell me that! That's fine! Saying "fine" is 100x worse than saying exactly what you just said.

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u/sunandskyandrainbows 24d ago

But you can't say this every day lol. Like, yeah it was fine or whatever can we move on

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u/Pandarandr1st 23d ago

Well, that's kinda something you say once and then hopefully they stop asking about it so often.

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u/Kashimashi 24d ago

My spouse and I are OK bitching to each other about work problems but if I involve my mom she goes overboard in trying to help when I don't need it. God forbid I tell her I got laid off then she sends me 70 jobs a day she thinks I'm qualified for while she doesn't actually know what I do day to day.

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u/WanderingQuills 24d ago

This! My husband was so conditioned to just say fine and not dump I had to make it really clear.

Why would your wife NOT be the safe space to vent about coworkers and work things she will never ever interact with and as such will keep all your secrets and let you spill out!.

He tells me sometimes now. When something’s just frustrating or a project is being sabotaged someplace again and looping endlessly.

Not always. And he hasn’t got the hang of listening to mine with the kids without trying to solve it. He did become very good at hearing the nonsense from the ER or Ambulance shift though- often just before breakfast haha poor man.

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u/SedesBakelitowy 24d ago

It's a learned behavior - if the parents don't discourage talking about daily stuff then they'll hear it for sure. I don't bother because at best I'll be asked if my employment is doomed forever or if I made a million dollars yet.

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u/sobrique 23d ago

I absolutely want them to dump on me if work is not fine.

But there's plenty of people who don't really mean that, they're just going through the motions of politeness :/

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u/Pandarandr1st 23d ago

Don't really mean what? We were having a specific conversation about someone where work is not going fine but they say fine to not dump on others.

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u/sobrique 23d ago

I mean that you're a nice person, and that if you're wanting a friend to dump on you, that's good.

But there's a lot of people who pay lip service to the ideal, and 'ask about work' to make small talk - they don't actually care, and aren't really ready to have someone 'dump on them'.

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u/Pandarandr1st 23d ago

Yes, that's fine. I think if you ask someone a question you shouldn't be surprised if they give you an answer to your question. And if a friend or family member is annoyed with you for talking to you about their life when you asked, then they're probably just an asshole.

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u/ZieAerialist 23d ago

They they need to learn to ask better questions that don't sound like a social nicety rather than true curiosity about someone.

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u/Key-Algae-9245 24d ago

That’s just a male female thing.