Ask Amy: Spouse doesn’t want to whine about wine
Because gyms have closed, she has resorted to running on our home treadmill in the mornings. However, since the room with the treadmill she runs on is right beneath my bedroom, her loud running wakes me up from my sleep.
I pointed out that she can run outside or run on the treadmill at other times of the day, but she insists on her current routine.
I asked my dad to talk to her, but he is afraid that she will explode with anger.
I've tried to make compromises by asking her to run only after 8 a.m., but she will not budge, and often runs at 7 a.m.
In response, she screams at me, saying that I am "not the only person who lives in this house.”
I am a college student. I need adequate rest in order to do well in school.
With her disrupting my sleep, I am often tired and unable to focus well on my studies. I feel that it is common decency for people to respect others' sleep.
How can I form an agreement with my mom without me sacrificing my sleep?
– Sleepless
Dear Sleepless: Asking your mother to run at a later time in the morning is not a “compromise” – it is merely you asking her to change. A compromise would be you agreeing to go to bed an hour earlier if she would agree to run an hour later.
...continued
