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New parenting is especially hard.
Not only are you trying to figure out who you're going to be in this new, permanent role you've acquired, but you are also taking care of a completely dependent newborn's every need.
It's even worse when you add in the obstacles of day-to-day life, like front-door solicitors who were annoying before there was a baby in your house. But they may threaten your sanity now that you have a little one depending on you for regular naps.
One mother was in such a position with her two-year-old, who was teething and struggling hard throughout the day. Naptime and bedtime were admittedly a reprieve for the entire household, so the parents could have some quiet, and the toddler could have some much-needed rest.
So one day when a knock came at the door, shortly after her toddler had gone down for a nap, this mother was none too happy to have unexpected visitors at her front door. When she answered and discovered it was a pair of Mormons, she tried to dismiss them, but when they didn't listen, she spoke harshly.
This mom, Reddit user "Craven_Hellsing," took to the "Am I the A$$hole" (AITA) subReddit, to ask if she was too hard on the unexpected visitors.
You can read her full exchange here:
"So this just happened and my husband thinks I was the a$$ in the situation so I'm just curious what others might think."
"So my toddler is in the throws of her terrible twos and has her back molars coming in, which makes any time she is awake an absolute misery. Naptime and bedtime are currently my favorite times of day. I'd finally gotten her down after MUCH struggle. About 30 minutes into her nap theres a knock at the door. Now, while a knock might not awaken the toddler, my idiot dogs will. They get excited because they think every knock at the door is their favorite person (the UPS lady who always has treats and pats) and started barking."
"I opened the door slightly so the dummies couldn't run out only to see two young mormon missionaries. I should note, they stop by here like every other month because my husband is WAY to nice and will engage them every time. I'm not as nice, admittedly, and will usually let him just deal with them. But he works 3rd shift so sleeps during the day, so I couldn't get him to deal with them. As soon as I spotted them I told them 'Sorry. I've got a napping toddler, I don't have time for this.'"
"The guy steps closer to me, puts his hand on my door as if to hold it open and starts saying 'ma'am we just need a moment of your time' (which we all know is b.s., it is never 'just a moment')"
"I. Got. Pissed. I yanked the door slightly to dislodge his hand off of my door and then told him 'yeah, you need to F*CK RIGHT OFF' before I slammed the door."
"Husband came out and, while he gets I didnt want to wake up the baby, he tried to tell me I should've 'handled it better and not been such an a$hole'"
"I pretty much told him the same thing I told the mormon kid. Luckily, angry child is back asleep and dogs have calmed down. So AITA??"
"Edited to add: husband just came back out to check that the kiddo fell back asleep and get some water. I told him the whole story. His response? 'Oh...well that makes them the d**ks!'. He apologized, kissed me on the head, and went back to bed."
"Edit: I wanted to add, cause I'm getting tired fingers from saying the same thing over and over; we've tried signs in the past. My hubs has worked 3rd shift for almost a decade so we've tried variations upon variations of ways to keep people from waking him up. Everyone but the religious door knockers respect the sign. We've been told 'God's mission trumps any silly sign' as an excuse for ignoring it. We've heard this more than once, so i think it is something they are taught to say to bypass the no solicitation signs."
The responses to the mom's story poured in, all with a resounding "no," that she wasn't being a jerk to the Mormons who appeared at her door, again, and even attempted to hold the door open.
"NTA. that was definitely justified after he tried to hold the door open." - rllyari
"Once he touched your door all bets are off. You were polite right until you in a position to stop being polite. NTA." - queenoreo
"When somebody tries to invade your space like that on your property, at your home... there's something inexplicably ooky about it to me. Like it weirds/creeps me out and makes me angry to think about. The second that guy tried to hold the door open, the number and level of justifiable responses to him skyrockets IMHO." - PorgDotOrg
"Yea, OP had already expressed what needed to be expressed. Their insistence was over the line and, imo, threatening. Putting the hand on the door is a expression of dominance and that would have set me off, too. NTA" - Anianna
"NTA. If you would have led with your 'f**k off' statement, you'd be the a$hole. But you declined to have a discussion, and he tried to bully you into it. That is what you responded to, not the initial knock."
"Consequently, I have a 3 year old who had open heart surgery at 6 months old. Crying hard, startling, etc. was bad business for him both before and after surgery. So when he went down, I hung up a paper on my front door that said something to the effect of, 'Sleeping heart baby and loud dogs. DO NOT knock on the door and do not ring the bell. If I am expecting you, please text so I know you're here. If I'm not, then you may leave the literature, ad, package, or whatever and leave without knocking or ringing the bell.'"
"One guy, also a guy trying to teach me about God, disregarded my sign. I absolutely lost my s**t. Would not hear him out, didn't care to have a chat at all, told him to get lost or I'd call the police. He left. He's never come back. I doubt he misses me." - GoddessRhiannonB
It's ridiculous the lengths people often have to go to in order to make their home feel like a comforting place for themselves.
Some are very uncomfortable with unexpected company, or perhaps they have a significant other on an alternate sleep schedule or a baby who needs tending to.
Because of this, there are literally hundreds of results on Amazon and Etsy, let alone other platforms, when you search for pre-made "No Soliciting" signs. This obviously shouldn't have to be the case, and if someone chooses to use one of these signs, any unplanned visitors should certainly comply by it.