Friendship is a two-way street. So when someone finds themselves doing all the work, they begin to question its value.
Recently, one woman made a post on Mumsnet, an online internet forum for parents, about this exact situation.
Using the nickname NewAndVeryConfused, she asked everyone on the platform how to stop her friend from inviting himself to dinner and coming empty-handed, expecting to be treated as if he's the star of the evening, a task that's especially hard for the woman because of her non-confrontational nature.
This woman has a friend who keeps inviting himself to her home for dinner
Image credits: fauxels (not the actual photo)
And it's driving her mad because he always comes empty-handed
Image credits: Kenny Eliason (not the actual photo)
She asked the internet if her dissatisfaction was reasonable or not
And how she could stop him from doing this
Image creditrs: kevin turcios (not the actual photo)
Image source: Newandveryconfused
There can be polite ways to invite yourself over to someone else's place, but it sounds like the man probably missed the mark
Image credits: MART PRODUCTION (not the actual photo)
According to etiquette authority Judith Martin, better known by the pen name Miss Manners, you must wait to be invited to someone's home to have dinner there.
That being said, she believes there are polite ways to fish for an offer (as long as you never ask them directly).
"After the friend says that he or she is free, suggest that you 'do something together' and pause for a second to see if you are invited," Miss Manners writes.
If you are not, you must proceed with one of the two options: invite the friend to your home or out somewhere for the evening instead.
However, judging from the emotional rant, you can't help but think that the guy from the post hasn't been subtle and respectful.
Obviously, different people have different "rules", but a quick Google search reveals that there are online threads where folks are discussing similar scenarios, and the vast majority are saying that "it's rude" to act like this and that they "would never do it."
People started sharing their suggestions for the woman
And some even said she should cut him out of her life
