AAAGGGHHH!

Is it ok to like AND love someone, but still admit that they drive you totally insane? Such is the case with my husband. It goes in cycles – you all know what I’m talking about – the husband’s view of “helping out” around the house. To my husband, this term means being at the house. If he’s there, I don’t have to do everything, right? WRONG.

A couple of nights ago, I made dinner (after working all day and picking kids up from daycare). While it was cooking I emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up the prep mess. He worked late, so he was behind the rest of us eating. After he was done, he dropped his plate into the spic-n- span sink and left his placemat, napkin and glass on the table. Yes, it’s true, I can be ultra sensitive sometimes, but this really irked me. I gently asked why he didn’t put the plate in the dishwasher and clear the table. “I wasn’t sure if the dishes in the dishwasher were clean.” Well, just minutes earlier when he came in, I told him dinner was ready and I’d already emptied the dishwasher and cleaned everything up so we’d have more time after dinner to spend with the kids. So, then he was caught not listening. This argument continued to go downhill for him.

This morning, I was very sad that I was out of breakfast cereal. He said “I just went to the store yesterday; you should have told me to get you some.” Ok, is it just me, or when we wives go the store, do we not look through the pantry and the fridge and make a list of things we’re out of and get those things – whether or not we as individuals actually eat it? And I always buy milk, bread, eggs, fruit snacks and cereal at the store – whether or not I know if we’re out – because I know we soon will be.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the laundry. I think I’m going to start an experiment with the laundry – not do any of it and see how many days it takes him to notice and actually do it himself. My guess is roughly 10 days (he’ll just buy more socks when he can’t find any of his).

AAGH! I love my husband. And he’s also a very likeable guy. But I blame his mother. Yes, it’s true, Mom – I blame you. You never made him pitch in around the house growing up because you wanted him to just “be a kid.” Well, our son WILL do chores – he can live with us until he’s married and I’ll always make him dinner and tuck him in, but he WILL learn how to do laundry, clean the floor and load dishes - and his wife will adore me for it someday (I adore you, I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. OK, I’ll shut up now).