Your time is less important, you have nothing to do!

I'm usually the last to know about family gatherings because one person or another has assumed that I'm not doing anything. Because we don't have children or schedules to keep.

When I get protest, sometimes I'll get the, "Why, what are you doing?" ... As if there's no possible way I could be doing anything other than waiting for an invitation out of my boring childless life?

Re: Your time is less important, you have nothing to do!

I would get that at work, and secretly TTC it hurt. And I have a chronic disease and they just could not fathom the idea that even childless people have lives, get tired, etc.

Re: Your time is less important, you have nothing to do!

I am sorry for how you get the short end of the stick. We're actually usually quite busy, and people know it, as I am sure you are. Once you skip a few because you already have plans, they will hopefully get the message

Re: Your time is less important, you have nothing to do!

Re: Your time is less important, you have nothing to do!

i get that from my brother sometimes---like if he wants to go out and do something he will say "i need you to baby sit on wed nite" or something and when i say i might have something to do or heck -- might just want to do something with DH - he will get an attitude as if i should be free to babysit--since duh--we don't have kids.

Re: Your time is less important, you have nothing to do!

Hi, I'm sticking my nose in here. I got that all the time before I had my DS. Now I am trying so hard not to do that to anyone. However, when making plans, I certainly do not consult with the people who didn't give me the same courtesy in the past. I was single and had no kids for a long time and I'm making a point not to do some of the things that people did to me. I have seen that some people forget as soon as they have kids, though.

Re: Your time is less important, you have nothing to do!

I actually did miss one event last year because I had made plans with the inlaws. I was told about the event - get this - on a Friday when it was supposed to take place on that Saturday.

Even worse, they knew about it for a week, but didn't think to tell me.

So I didn't go. I don't know if anything was said or it was noticed, I didn't ask. But I made it clear if my time was not going to be respected, they should expect me not to be there.

The thing that stinks about it is that it's usually a gathering of the entire family, and I really enjoy those. So it's hurting both of us.

Hopefully they'll get the message.