Anonymous wrote:op here: thanks, all. i still maintain that no one did anything wrong. i think the person who mentioned small versus big families hit the nail on the head.
DH had a small family and everyone (his parents) do everything the kids want to do, on their schedule. they only see them once every 2 months. when his sister comes along, she generally also follows the kids' schedule, but sometimes goes off on her own. She always mentions how tired she gets of children.
i think DH was acting super spoiled, but he got me frazzled in the car - asking why my very own flesh-and-blood would treat us this way (slight exaggeration, but that's how it felt to me)... But he is like this, come to think of it - he often doesn't "get" why one of my siblings would do something different than us - its on oft-recurring theme when they're in town "why didn't brother X come over here and hang out instead of going to a movie with all of his high school buddies?" (this would come after hanging out allllll day together)
parents paid b/c it was a special treat connected to a major life event for one of us. why did that seem entitled?
What seemed entitled was brother's insistence that he have his bran muffin and espresso at the moment he wanted it. The fact that the trip was a treat paid for by the parents is not, to me, in any way "entitlement" but sounds just fine, and generous of them.
Seems you already see that your DH has a pattern of not "getting" his relatives. Maybe he's from a family where everyone is expected to take every breath together on all outings, at gatherings, etc. and you are not from such a family.
I am with you -- that's just not necessary, and rather suffocating. You are right that adults sometimes need a break from the kids. But the brother who whined about food was being a baby himself in that one instance!