He needs a reality check
It goes without saying that being a parent is one of the hardest jobs, so every once in a while, a little break from the kiddos is necessary.
Unfortunately for one dad, his bubble was burst after he learned that his kids were off from school at the same time he was planning on being OOO — throwing a frustrating wrench into his plans.
He frustratingly took to the r/confession forum on Reddit to air out his grievances. “I feel like a terrible father and a selfish a—ole at the same time,” he started.
“My sister is flying in this week. I took leave from work to spend time with her, who I haven’t seen in years. I had ZERO. F—–G. IDEA that my kids (elementary school) were off school the same week for spring break. It literally never once occurred to me. Legitimately.”
“And now I’m feeling absolutely gutted, both at the guilt, but also the realization that they’re going to be home the entire time. They’re both autistic and I cannot emphasize enough how infuriatingly exhausting they are. Fridays are the worst days of the week for me, because it means I don’t have work the next two days. And now Monday is 10 days away,” the post continued.
How he didn’t know his kids would be home is the most head-scratching part. And out of the 1,000 replies on the post, many agreed, not showing any sympathy for him — if anything, he was slammed for feeling this way, as most showed support for the poster’s wife.
“I completely understand being frustrated when kids are home for school. But dude, you should at least know when spring break is. Give your wife a break since you will be home. She clearly is the one leading the family here,” one commenter wrote.
“He’s infuriatingly exhausted by them, but not even involved enough to know when they are and aren’t in school. I’d bet anything the entire week is gonna be him breaking down into an adult tantrum and going ‘but my sister is here’ anytime his wife asks for any help,” quipped someone else. “And when the week is over he’ll pat himself on the back and congratulate himself for finding the strength to make it through, completely ignoring her falling apart nearby.”
“If you weren’t off work, who would be watching them? Did you simply assume their other parent would? And that YOUR time off could be kid-free?” someone pointed out.
“Tell me you’re not the primary parent without telling me you’re not the primary parent,” read another comment.
“You think you’re exhausted? Try carrying the mental load of your household. God knows you’re not the one doing it,” a user wrote.
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