Skip to main content

Walked right into that one

So school has started.  It's funny how the grind can become more grating.  Schedules are tighter, even though kids are at school there seems to be more to do.  So, I have come up with a great school year schedule for me and the kids and I made it through week one of this new schedule.  Last night, I relaxed just a bit and didn't vacuum before I went to bed (the kids did spill some popcorn, but I fully intended to vacuum first thing this morning!).  My good intentions were spoiled when I awoke to a sick kids who desperately needed a doctor.  So around 2 pm the popcorn was still there waiting for me.  

My husband (today was his day off) huffed and puffed a little when he came to the kitchen for a snack.  I said, "You hate me because I'm a crappy housekeeper, huh?"  Totally meaning this rhetorically and trying to lighten the fact that the house was in a bit of disarray.  

His response, "Even though my mom was a natze about cleaning it was really nice to have a clean home to relax it. But...  no, I don't hate you."

Wow!  It totally walked into that one.  Knife to the heart.  Not only did he knock all my hard work, but he had to go there!  He had to compare me to the MOM!  Is any wife as good as the MOM?  Am I the only woman who gets compared to the MOM?  Mind you, he doesn't do it often, he knows it's not nice or fair, but come on!  He went there today!  And after I have worked my butt off all week incorporating a new schedule, adding school to the agenda, not only for the kids, but for me.

But you know what, I can't really be mad at him.  He was just answering the question that I asked.  Maybe not with any tact, but he was honest.  He didn't yell at me or berate me for not vacuuming up the popcorn the minute it was spilt.  He merely stated that it's nice to have a clean house.  Is that so bad?

Oh, men!

Comments

michelle said…
I think sometimes men (* bless their hearts) are dense and don't realize how hard we are on ourselves and how we know every little thing we should be doing that we aren't. AND the things we are doing we always feel we could do better, so... if we don't feel like vacuuming one night...oh well... what's 1 minus 1,876,321? 'Cause that's how many times you will vacuum the floor in your lifetime!

*me and my sister think that as long as you say "bless their heart" at the beginning you can say whatever you want after :)!
August 31, 2008 at 2:16 PM
M. Leigh Marrott said…
It's true and sincere, "bless their heart" always puts instant stitches on whatever gnarly wound follows. Right??
September 9, 2008 at 4:57 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being Dismissed from Services

I heard those dreaded words today. "I'm afraid that most likely your child doesn't qualify for services anymore." I paused afraid that if I responded too soon I'd yell or cry. I asked a few clarifying questions, blinking back tears of panic. I held my own for nearly the entire conversation. And then the therapist said, "You should be so proud, Mom. He's made so much progress." Then, I cried. The truth is he has made so much progress. The truth is I am very proud of him. Still, the truth is I hate hearing those words. Every time a specialist says to me that one of my children "no longer qualifies" for services, bile-like panic rises in my chest. "But he still has such anger issues," I said. And, "His impulsiveness gets in his way on a daily basis," I added. Doesn't she know? Can't she see the things I see? "I did tell you that he pulled a knife on his brother last week, didn't I?" Somehow she h...
6 comments
Read more

Beautiful Disaster: His own brand of Awesome

Published on the Liahona Project, link here I took my oldest son back-to-school shopping the other day.  It was.... awesome.  sad.  exciting.  funny. inspiring.  surprising.  mama-heartbreaking. Big Brother was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in 2009, when he was eight years old.  It was years of evaluations and developmental preschools and speech therapists.  Years of teachers bringing their concerns to me and me taking those concerns to doctors and, and, and...  years of misdiagnoses.  It was years of meltdowns and vomiting and aggression and wondering feet, running feet and hearing him say things like "I'm a bad son.  I'm going to let a car hit me," as those feet took him out the front door. And then that moment, that singular sentence, "Your son is on the spectrum," that changed everything, that changed nothing.  That bitter-sweet recognition that he was, in fact, atypical. And we've had years in between that the...
3 comments
Read more

Diligence and Obedience Bring Safety and Peace

I've had a few people ask for copies of a talk that I recently gave in our ward's Sacrament meeting, so I am putting it here with the thought that maybe others will appreciate it too. Please find at the end a reference list for all sources I used in planning and preparing this talk. Diligence and Obedience Bring Safety and Peace Today we live in an unstable world. Due to this instability many are security obsessed. They buy the top-of-the-line locks and alarm systems for our homes and our vehicles. They buy expensive insurance policies, even for their pets. They invest their money in stocks and bonds to "keep it safe." We have large militaries and governments. We have nuclear weapons as deterrents. We band hand lotion and breast milk and nail clippers from airplanes. We even go so far as to invade others privacy in the name of security, so that we ourselves can be safe. That's not to say that any, or all, of these things are wrong or even unne...
Post a Comment
Read more