Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Anyone else have a DH that likes to " announce" completing a mundane task ..

37 replies

Sundancerintherain · 19/08/2021 08:44

.......like a bargain basement town cryer ?
Also likes to announce starting a task. " I am now going to load the dishwasher !"
What makes it even stranger is that he has always done his half of the housework no problem, he is not looking for praise ( I've asked him ) and he is equally as perplexed by my habit of just getting on and starting tasks without a fanfare ( " Why didn't you say you were going to hang the washing ? ") I'm not sure if it's just a quirk of his, or as he says it's a difference of communication

OP posts:

Marni83 · 19/08/2021 08:45

Difference in communication

I do the same

Most of the time no one even around

Marni83 · 19/08/2021 08:46

But very odd to be perplexed about you not announcing you’re hanging the washing

Original poster

Sundancerintherain · 19/08/2021 09:00

I know @Marni83 I find it odd too.
Just asked DH about it again and he said something very interesting about his dad always wanting to know if he was doing anything constructive with his time , especially when he was a teen. I can well believe it, staying with FIL was a round of getting the family up by 7 then going on long marches walks in the country before returning to do a spot of heavy landscaping light gardening.

OP posts:

PalmarisLongus · 19/08/2021 09:03

An ex of mine used to announce whenever he was about to go and use the bathroom, I don't know why but he was never very polite about it, he'd stand up and announce in a booming voice through the house,
"Right, I'm going to go and have a massive shite."
Then he'd vanish for 30 minutes in the toilet.

Very weird, funny for a week, then just annoying.

Milomonster · 19/08/2021 09:09

No idea but this made me laugh

BichonFrizz · 19/08/2021 09:17

Some people like to narrate their lives. Maybe it makes it feel a bit more exciting. Like a trailer for a movie?

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 19/08/2021 09:18

Some male columnist once wrote a piece about announcing it after he’d done it, with a little (purposely annoying) add-on, e.g., after hoovering, including under sundry bits of furniture. ‘Goodness, it’s been a long time since anyone vacuumed under there, hasn’t it?’

TBH I did find it funny, but it’d be a very different matter if dh ever tried it!

@PalmarisLongus, my DF used to say, ‘I am going to commune with my soul’, before disappearing with the paper for half an hour. 😂

ParentingDilemmas · 19/08/2021 09:29

I laughed as soon I saw the title of this thread because just the other day my partner declared “I’ve cleaned the top of the fridge”. I didn’t respond as I don’t really know what to say to that?

PalmarisLongus · 19/08/2021 09:37

@ParentingDilemmas

Perhaps he and other men are seeking some kind of validation and a little pat on their heads like they are good boys? Maybe a little gold star sticker sheet for them and a little chart on the wall next to a height chart? Every morning in the kitchen, get everyone together and announcement, "Dave is 45 and has 23 gold stars. Today Dave is 6foot 3inches tall. Let's give Dave a round of applause."

Concestor · 19/08/2021 09:37

I don't announce when I've done stuff but I do say if I'm leaving the room what I'm going to do so oh knows where I am. He just buggers off leaving me with no idea what he's doing or how long he will be and I hate it! I find it so odd for people to just walk out of a room without saying what they are doing. It feels really rude and inconsiderate.

MrsSugar · 19/08/2021 09:40

Oh yes ! Some of my faves are….

I’ve hung ur washing up - sorry do u not also wear clothes ?

That’s me hoovered the floor for you - do you not also live here ?

I just nod along n say okay thanks. Least it’s getting done. Altho I do think maybe I should announce all tasks I do too lol

MedusasBadHairDay · 19/08/2021 09:46

I used to work in an office with a man who would make a big announcement on the rare occasion he decided to answer the phones. And I mean standing up, raising both arms in the air and saying, "it's ok guys, I've got it".
It was part of his job, so not like he was doing the rest of us a favour.

After a while we all started doing it, he never seemed to twig we were taking the piss.

NormallyOK · 19/08/2021 09:46

My DH had to step up and do more a few months ago when I had a major cancer operation. He announced that he would "carry on doing his share" when I was better, so that he would "keep his hand in for when he retired" (due to happen in a couple of months). Doing his share amounts to changing the bed linen once per week, sweeping the kitchen floor, wiping down the worktops and vacuuming on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I do EVERYTHING else, including the gardening, but to hear him boast to our adult DC's I'm the most spoilt wife in the world with all he does and I don't appreciate or thank him half enough

MinesAMassiveSalad · 19/08/2021 09:48

I think I do this, I blame the narration on having had little children around.
It's become a habit now!

itcouldhave · 19/08/2021 09:48

DH and I have started announcing to each other that ‘I have emptied the dishwasher for you’ whenever we do it.

Pissinthepottyplease · 19/08/2021 09:48

Nope but DH has really annoying habit of spending 3 mins telling me why he need to do x job quickly. Normally it’s only 4 or 5 min job for him and I’m always left irritated that the has irrupted what I’m doing and thinking by the time you’ve finished talking I would have finished that job. It always takes him ages to clean the kitchen on the evening. We alternate nights and I have no idea what he spends his time doing. Just get it done so you can have the rest of the evening to relax.

HumbugWhale · 19/08/2021 09:52

I think dh and I both do this! It's useful though, if I know that he has just done something I know I don't need to do it and vice versa. We also tell each other if we are going to go to the loo, have a shower etc although that is because we only have 1 bathroom so need to check Monday needs the loo before starting a shower and also to check the other one knows to keep an eye on the dcs.

HumbugWhale · 19/08/2021 09:52

*Monday = nobody

Eileen101 · 19/08/2021 09:55

My husband does this.

I've put the dishwasher on!

Erm, well done?

Tal45 · 19/08/2021 10:00

It sounds like he's just constantly checking in to keep you up to date with what's happening and doesn't understand why you don't keep him up to date with what you're doing - whereas you don't feel the need to let him know/or to be told every little thing that happens day to day.
I think it's just different communication styles.

Driftingblue · 19/08/2021 10:02

My DH does this. He also claims to not be looking for praise. I don’t believe him. I think he believes it though, I just think he lacks self-awareness on the issue.

Brollypackedforscottishholiday · 19/08/2021 10:04

Dh does this. I tell him his medal is in the post...

bizboz · 19/08/2021 10:07

Yep, I also ask him if he wants some kind of medal.

coachmylife · 19/08/2021 10:10

my mil does this:

I'm just going to chop the onions
I'm just going to fry the onions
I'm just going to...

It is exhausting!

ThatIsQuiteACrane · 19/08/2021 10:13

My husband does this about any task he completes. He is definitely looking for a pat on the head and often refers to himself as 'saintly' for having done something like fill the dishwasher. I have got into the habit of saying thanks even though it grates on me. Sadly we're a long way off him doing his fair share of household graft work.

In a way I can sort of get it - trying to avoid taking each others contribution for granted is a good thing. However, it only seems to work one way as I never tell him all the things I do... Maybe I should start

Flip

1 2

Swipe left for the next trending thread