AITA for parking near someone my wife knew during camp drop-off and making her mad?
This morning I dropped off my wife and our kids at summer camp. The parking lot had plenty of open spots, but I parked next to another parent who was unloading. I left extra space, probably two or three feet more than usual. I wasn’t blocking or crowding anyone.
As we were driving in, my wife said, “Oh, that’s [redacted], I know her,” when she saw the parent ahead of us. I didn’t know who it was, but since she recognized her, I figured it was totally fine to park nearby. Honestly, I thought she might even prefer it since it was someone she knew.
I also parked close because I was trying to stay near the van they’re all traveling in to make unloading easier. In the past, she’s gotten annoyed when I park too far away so I thought I was doing the helpful thing.
As soon as I parked, she got irritated and said something like, “All these open spots and you park right next to her?!” I said something along the lines of “If I had parked farther away, you would’ve gotten mad at me for parking too far!”
That made her even more upset. She said, “Don’t get out of the car" so I couldn't help her unload all the bags.
So I stayed put while she got out and unloaded everything herself in front of other parents. It made me look like the guy who just sits there while his wife does all the work. Later she said she didn't understand why I would park next to someone who was unloading their car.
That wasn’t what I meant at all. I felt like I couldn’t win either way and was just trying to make things easier.
AITA?
Edit: I was not comfortable with the idea of our kids attending this camp without a parent. At 9 years old, I feel they’re too young to be around unfamiliar adults overnight, especially in college dorms where boys and girls are placed in separate rooms with 2–3 people and potentially strangers. I didn’t want to send them at all unless one of us could be there. My wife strongly wanted them to go, so she volunteered to chaperone as a compromise to make me feel more comfortable.
Last year, our 13-year-old was placed in a dorm room with an unrelated adult we didn’t know, and that experience made me very uncomfortable.
Posted Jun 23, 2025, 4:25 AM UTC