Road trips are supposed to be fun. We drive along, seeing the sights, excited to arrive at our vacation destination. However, they can also be tiring, and on long-haul drives, we have to delicately balance drive time and rest time.
With two people, it should be simple. One sleeps while the other drives.
However, one man took offense that his wife wouldn’t stay up and keep him company during his driving shift and came to the Internet seeking validation.
He Gets the Night Shift
The Original Poster (OP) began by saying that he and his wife were taking a road trip to California with their two-year-old son.
They decided to rotate driving shifts, and he got the night shift. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hack it and woke his wife up to keep him company.
OP Can’t Stand Being Alone
Most users would likely understand if OP was too tired to drive and needed company to help him stay awake.
But that wasn’t the case.
“I was feeling really lonely and bored as I was driving. I’m not someone who can be left to his own thoughts very well, and I need people around me, I thrive on energy and excitement,” admitted the OP.
So He Wakes Up His Wife
Feeling sorry for himself, OP decides to shake his wife awake. She was asleep in the back with their son, and his shaking woke the toddler up too.
“I was feeling isolated, so I shook her awake, but then our son woke up,” he said, adding that his sleepy wife now had to deal with getting the toddler back to sleep.
She was seething the whole time, and when their son finally quieted down, she laid into OP.
It’s Unfair that the Wife Gets To Sleep
OP defended himself, saying his wife was unfair to want to sleep while he was driving. The argument continued, with OP arguing that she “made him feel like a driver,” while his wife pointed out that she wouldn’t force him to stay awake to engage with her.
Of course, because the world revolves around OP, he didn’t appreciate that response.
“I told her that that’s a cheap blow because we’re not the same people, and I kept my mouth shut while she was driving because I know she doesn’t like distractions even though it bothered me terribly, so the least she could do is to stop being selfish and help keep me sane,” he said.
And, of Course, the Wife is the Emotional One
OP went on to explain that despite his “perfectly logical answer, she apparently got emotional” because she laid into him about his behavior, likening him to a toddler and saying “she didn’t know there was another one in the car who needed his whims catered to at every moment.”
Unable to handle justified criticism, OP disengaged, unable to fathom how he was in the wrong.
Reddit Explains to OP Exactly Why He Was Wrong
He came to Reddit, seeking validation for his actions, and found that most reasonable people don’t agree with him at all.
“Hate to break this to you, but your wife isn’t just an accessory to your life, she is a living, breathing being with her own needs and wants,” stated one user, adding, “You basically are so self-centered that you want your wife to stay away while she drives and during your driving shift. And take care of the baby while you are driving. You also are so selfish and self-centered that you didn’t care that waking up your wife would disturb and awaken your son.”
“Do not wake up someone who has been driving for hours, has a toddler sleeping next to them, and is already exhausted because you are bored,” advised another.
The “Logical” Fallacy
Others pointed out that when people say they’re being “logical” or “reasonable,” they are typically anything but.
“Any guy who will describe himself as ‘logical’ and his wife as ’emotional’ in the same sentence is automatically an a—,” said one user, saying that it’s logical that his wife wouldn’t want to stay up all night after driving.
“You keep saying that the way your wife reacted and the things she said were rude and unwarranted. What she said was honest and 100% warranted,” observed another.
Get a Hotel if You Can’t Stay Awake
Reddit users did sympathize with OP. Driving all night is tough. However, most said his reasons for waking her up didn’t make any sense, and if he was too tired to drive, he should have pulled over or gotten a room.
Source: Reddit