AITA / Am I overreacting because my husband’s idea of celebrating me is taking me to the grocery store… again?
My birthday is tomorrow. Mother’s Day is next week. Our anniversary is a few days after that. We combine them into “Mother’s‑Birth‑Aversary,” mostly because my husband has never really celebrated any of them individually.
I don’t get cards. I don’t get a cake, unless I buy it myself. I don’t get anything on the actual day. If something happens, it’s usually days later and feels like an afterthought. I’ve learned not to expect much.
For the last few years, my “gift” has been him deciding to take me shopping somewhere random. Twice it was a plant nursery. One year it was literally the grocery store.
This year, he took me to look at sheds a week before my birthday - something I’ve wanted for years because I don’t have a space of my own. I thought maybe he was finally planning something thoughtful.
Nope.
Today he walked in and told me to “get dressed, we’re going out.” His big plan? Taking me to the grocery store again. No card. No cake. No plan. Just the grocery store. And last time he did this, he was mad at me for a week because I “spent too much.”
Meanwhile, a few weeks ago I got my hair and makeup done and asked him to go out with me, and he told me I “can’t bark orders and expect him to jump.” So today I matched that energy.
Now I’m sitting here wondering if I’m overreacting for feeling hurt and disappointed that after all the shed‑shopping buildup, his birthday plan was… the grocery store.
Is this an overreaction, or is this actually as bare‑minimum as it feels?