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My husband and I had a quiet dinner out ruined.?

My husband and I went out this evening for a quiet dinner. It got ruined by another diner who was two tables away from us.

My mother-in-law passed away last March. The anniversary of her death is this weekend. My husband was an only child and his parents divorced when he was five years old. For all of his life it was just him and his mother. So naturally, he took her passing very hard. I know that the anniversary of her death will be hard for him.

After we ordered our dinner this evening, two couples were seated at a table two booths away from us. Before they even sat down, one of the women told the group that her mother had passed away in January. Then proceeded over the next half hour to give minute by minute details of her mother's last day. Including the hospice nurse's assessment of the situation and word by word of phone calls that were made on that day. After a few minutes of this, my husband excused himself to the restroom, was gone about 10 minutes and came back and indicated that he was ready to go. I was finished, but my husband left half of his dinner on the table.

I wanted very badly to go over and tell the women to shut up. No one in the restaurant wanted to hear all the little details. What would have been appropriate in this situation? Did the woman need to be told about how loudly her voice carried? I feel horrible for my husband who was subjected to having to remember his mother's last days. (She died at home with hospice and my husband taking care of her.)

How would you have handled it?

Update:

Beefy Cheeks-Apparently you didn't read my question. The woman was talking LOUDLY so that everyone in the restaurant could hear her. We don't make a habit of listening in on other's conversations, but when someone is talking that loud, you can't help but hear. I think your answer is a bit rude, but I'll excuse you because that is the polite thing to do.

7 Answers

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  • woody
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    As much as I think this woman was rude, you've got to remember she was greiving too, and had no idea of your situation. I would have asked the waitress to request that this woman keep her voice down, and I would have moved to another table. This was just very poor luck, and I'm sorry it ruined your evening.

  • 1 decade ago

    I think everything happens for a reason and maybe in some strange way this is just a little sign letting your husband know that he is not alone in his loss.

    Also keep in mind this is a public place, people can talk about whatever they want.

    My husband and I both lost our fathers when we were in our 20’s very abruptly. Loved ones die everyday, it is selfish of us to expect them to live forever - they are now at peace.

  • 1 decade ago

    You and your husband were dining in a PUBLIC restaurant with OTHER PEOPLE ..... what I find odd is that YOU BOTH WERE LISTENING IN ON HER CONVERSATION !!! ... I"m sure if you both decided to engage in your own conversation the evening would have been fine. Instead you feel you are the center of the world, and the restaurant and you think everyone else must comply to you... WRONG!

    Stop feeling high and mighty... if you want to listen to others conversations and choose to be offended by it then blame yourself. She was having a private conversation with her friends, NOT YOU... SHAME on you for snooping in on them.

    Get over yourselves! Seriously.

    Since when does every person in the world need to change themselves so as to not offend you? You both wanted to be offended... too bad, this is the real world honey... we've all got other things going on than worrying about you and your husbands problems. Get used to it. The world is not going to change around you.

  • 1 decade ago

    I have had this happen to me a few times people talking loud, and what i have done is to ask the waitress to fine me another table far from the loud talking. You should have moved from the table quickly and ask for another area to sit.

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  • 4 years ago

    I stated as a feminist and agnostic at the same time as i grew to grow to be 19, have not replaced that view in 30 years. yet I also grew to grow to be very quiet and introverted until eventually ultimately my 30's, as instantly as I actually were given more desirable effective, did no longer care what optimum human beings idea anymore, and extremely of being a quiet feminist, I grew to modify into an outspoken feminist. I grew up until eventually ultimately now abortion grew to grow to be criminal, until eventually ultimately now the pill grew to grow to be extensively disbursed, at the same time as there have been women human beings's jobs and men's jobs, and also you need to no longer word for the diverse gender's activity. I bear in concepts at the same time as "merely undesirable human beings were raped, incest and toddler molestation hardly if ever exceeded off, and surely damaging human beings were batterers", or so it grew to grow to be stated..... i ought to by technique of no potential prefer to have lived until eventually ultimately now feminists replaced our society.

  • 1 decade ago

    Well, that is not true. I actually want to hear about what happened. This cancer thing, appears to just come in and taken EVERYONE by storm.

    Wake up honey, this is life and I mean you could have told her you don't want her to say anything but who are you, I mean how EN DAM TITLED are you to tell someone to shut up.

    I am sorry about your husband but you could have asked for another table.

    The goose & the gander BOTH have a right.

  • i would've gotten up and told her she was being disruptive. its ok to talk about her passing, but not in a public place where it ruins another persons meal. it's rude is what it is and i would've gone to ask her to stop or ask a waiter or the manager to fix the problem.

    Source(s): i get annoyed by people all the time....so i usually have an easy way to fixing it.
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