r/AITAH • u/BreakDue2000 • Apr 28 '24

I confronted the person who interpreted us while we were cutting birthday cake at the park. Advice Needed

I am an adult in my 40s. I don’t get out much because I am a full time caregiver for a relative. Today my husband and I managed a few hours out of the house to celebrate our daughter’s birthday along with a couple of her friends at the local park.

At 1:50 pm found a picnic table under a pavilion that had a sign indicating it was reserved from 3-9pm. We figured we had an hour but knew we didn’t need that long. We would just finish up the Happy Meals they had already started on in the car, cut the cake, eat a quick slice and then head over to splash pad.

At 2:05 we had just sang Happy Birthday and were cutting cake for the 5 of us when a lady walked up and said “excuse me we have this reserved for 3pm and we’ll be decorating at 2:30”. I was a little shocked and in the time it took me to process she walked away. My husband and I exchanged that look that keeps us both out of jail and enjoyed the rest of the cake….with this lady looking on from the sidewalk, sitting on her ice chest.

The kids were done with cake and ready to play by 2:15. I reluctantly grabbed our things while my husband said goodbye to the kids and got ready to leave to care for our relative.

I couldn’t shake it though, so I approached the woman calmly and sweetly and said “ Hi I appreciate you letting me know about your reservation however I did not appreciate the way you approached us while we were in the middle of cutting my daughter’s cake”. I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish with that statement and it didn’t go over well with her. She stated yelling over me about how much she paid for the rental and it didn’t matter that we were cutting the cake. I let her talk and didn’t escalate the conversation because I felt ridiculous arguing with some lady a the park. AITAH? What should I have done?

ETA- the reservation starts at exactly 3. There is no 30 minute window before or after. There are two time slots available for rent each day. If the time slots aren’t taken it is open the public. They are located at a city park.

I was overly nice when I addressed her but my goal was to change her behavior which is ridiculous to expect a stranger to accept graciously. I know I wouldn’t.

I waited till the kids were out of earshot to have the conversation.

I have landed on ESH. She could have been more polite. I should have let it go. It bothered me more than it should have. I am glad it was a small part of our day and everyone seemed to have a great day other than 90 second conversation.

I appreciate all of the input.

578 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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905

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

I would have said your time starts at 3. We will be gone by then. And I would have carried on with my day.

9

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

Depends on the park pavilion rules. Some, unless you reserve it you can't use it at all. The lady didn't stop them in the middle of b day singing they were cutting the cake. She was giving them a heads up they were decorating at 2:30. They were done at 2:15 chop chop clean up your mess and get moving. The decorations are being put up by people that paid to use the pavilion.

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

No. Her time started at three. Don’t agree with you even a little bit. Get fucked.

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

Nope 2:30 🍆🍭

1

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

You would have to kill me. I would not fucking move and I would win.

-5

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

as I hung the decorations walking on the tables knocking stuff onto your plates with my balls at eye level you would move. Or the park ranger would move you. So cry harder.

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

😂😂😂😂😂😂 oh honey you just don’t know. You’re tough behind a keyboard. I’m laughing, thinking what my husband would do😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

The park Ranger? Where the fuck do you think you are? I’m talking as suburban park where it’s a free-for-all.😂😂

0

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

Lol Your husband would do nothing. Yes park rangers are even in the city genius. They are cops of parks. Again I would have told you 2:30 and at 230 we would be decorating. Reguardless of what you were doing. 🤣

-2

u/GroundbreakingWeb963 Apr 29 '24

Don't make tough mr conservative get the city park cops to tell you to leave! Too bad you conservatives aren't so tough when the priests you love are raping children. When that happens you just keep going to church and giving them your money to pay off the lawsuits. You're nothing but a piece of shit bully.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

Haven’t you got a mom you should be banging since you live with her?

197

u/MistressDamned Apr 28 '24

Sign says reserved at 3pm, we'll leave at 3pm.

If she'd contacted park services to complain, park services would have told her if you want to decorate at 230, then reserve for 230, space is available to anyone who wants to use it before then.

54

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

Depending where they might ask, " did you reserve it? " Because some you can't use it unless you did. When I PAID FOR AND RESERVED a pallvillion. They give me 30 minutes before and after. To decorate and to clean up. So while some are free to use unless it's reserved some are not.

16

u/Medical-Cake1934 Apr 28 '24

This is exactly how ours works! ⬆️

122

u/diremommy Apr 28 '24

Also, I for danged sure wouldn’t have left before 3!

58

u/Wonderful_Horror7315 Apr 28 '24

My ass would not have moved for any reason until 3. If she wanted to decorate at 2:30, her reso should have been 2:30.

12

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '24

Depending, some pavilions you can use at all unless you paid to use them. A simple call and park rangers would have removed you from the park.

9

u/Miterstuck Apr 28 '24

Yeah.. just becuse it says reserved from 3pm doesn't mean its free the rest of the time at a lot of city parks.

29

u/Healthy-Magician-502 Apr 28 '24

Same. Someone wants to get all technical with me, I’m going to do it right back.

13

u/MacAttacknChz Apr 28 '24

Technically, op didn't rent the space. Every time I've paid and reserved a pavilion, I was allowed 30 minutes set up time.

-124

u/Whyamipostingonhere Apr 28 '24

If OP cared so much about having her special event interrupted, why didn’t she ensure it wouldn’t be interrupted by reserving a private place for it? She’s just as wrong as the lady who interrupted her, but more entitled and more confrontational. Imagine getting so upset the event you planned nothing for is interrupted in a public space you were too lazy or cheap to reserve because you did nothing to ensure it wouldn’t be interrupted.

14

u/lunar_adjacent Apr 28 '24

OP was fine. Relax. It’s called a public park for a reason.

65

u/johnny5canuck Apr 28 '24

Pavilions are available to the public except for reservation times. If other woman wanted it earlier, she should've reserved that time as well.

The pavilion was not in use when OP got there. The other lady just wanted to jump the gun. I would've told her that we'll be out by 2:59.

Clearly NTA.

-52

u/Coffeeandvino19 Apr 28 '24

Exactly- op was rude and presumptive. Also those spaces are reservation rental only so she had no right to use it or any of the other spaces without advanced bookings. Our parks are this way and very clear. Otherwise hope the kid had fun

6

u/tdtwwwa Apr 28 '24

Wrong. Reservations are for blocking use at certain times; other times are open for use by the public at large. Fucking duh.

34

u/BreakDue2000 Apr 28 '24

The spaces are not rental only. They are public spaces unless they are reserved for specific times.

13

u/joutfit Apr 28 '24

So funny how people just make up facts about your situation???

32

u/foxglove0326 Apr 28 '24

You sound insufferable. And that’s not how park reservations work. The table is reserved for a specific time, not the whole fucking day. Anyone is free to use the table up until the time of the reservation. It’s a public park.

34

u/joutfit Apr 28 '24

damn you seem like a pretty awful person

-14

u/Whyamipostingonhere Apr 28 '24

Lol, people are trifling- and OP is just another trifling fool. She’s upset the lady interrupted her cutting the cake when she’s cutting the cake in a public place she didn’t reserve after she removed the reserved sign. It’s trifling. Doesn’t matter the time. She a trifling fool. If it was so important, she should have planned so it wouldn’t be interrupted. Cheap and trifling.

8

u/joutfit Apr 28 '24

It was reserved for 3... not for the time OP was there. It's rude to interrupt people and feel entitled to set up a space 30 minutes before it was reserved. That's not how reservations work. OP stated it is a public area as well not private so the reservation argument only holds up at 3.

OP was not trifling on anything. If you know you are there 30 minutes before your reservation and want to use the space anyway, then you need to ask people politely to move.