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Husband's Days Off

111 replies

YouG0GlenCoco · 23/05/2024 10:35

I guess this is a bit of an AIBU but I didn't want to post there and get ripped to shreds! So please be gentle with me if you think I am in the wrong!

Dh works full time, hybrid remote. Company are starting up 9 day fortnights so he now gets one midweek day off every two weeks. I do not work currently, I did work part time but two of our children are disabled and managing their needs (lots of days off, morning school drop offs are an emotionally draining hour long event, being sent home early, meetings, appointments, not sleeping through the night etc etc) just led me to not be able to balance work and home and I was completely burnt out.

Dh is using his midweek days off to play golf and basically anything else he fancies. The day off happens to fall on a day I am most frazzled as I take dd to a weekly physiotherapy session which involves picking her up midmorning, an hour round trip and then dropping her back at school for the last 45-60 mins. So perhaps that is clouding my judgement! But this morning he was complaining that the garage doesn't do MOTs on a Saturday. I suggested he book it for his next day off and he said "but that's my day for me. I don't want to be taking my car for an MOT on that day" I replied "oh yes, it's nice to have a day for yourself isn't it" (passive aggressive I know 😬) he got the hump a bit then because he says he works hard for that day (an extra 30 mins at start and end of each working day) but he can't see that I don't ever get a day off from being the one who does EVERYTHING for the children. I asked him on one of the days off to pick them up in the afternoon but he just said he didn't want to!

I think it's less about begrudging him a day off to do what he likes and more about feeling unappreciated and resentful that I don't get the same. I'm unsure if I'm just being a brat though because I don't work. Or, I don't have PAID work I should say. When I did work part time my day off was for food shopping, life admin and cleaning 🙃

OP posts:
5475878237NC · 23/05/2024 17:17

YouG0GlenCoco · 23/05/2024 16:38

Stepdad to one, since he was under 1 year. Dad to youngest (dd). Wasn't trying to mislead by not including that in my op.

If the child was under one then totally irrelevant to me. It's not like the child became his step child at 14. You're a family.

mitogoshi · 23/05/2024 17:18

I completely understand your situation @YouG0GlenCoco !

This was my life too, except it's was a flexible job rather than officially 9/10 days situation, golf, cricket, football...

Fast forward 15 years and months after we split up (his choice) exh apologised for (a) thinking I was lazy for not managing to work full time with a kid with Sen, school refusal etc (he used to conveniently forget I tried and got let go twice due to taking too much time off) and (b) him prioritising his hobbies on top of a 50+ hour working week. He gets it now he's had to managed dd alone and his new (apparently very compassionate) girlfriend made him realise he was a bit rubbish to me, though I let him. Oh well, got a better model myself now!

RoobarbAndMustard · 23/05/2024 17:18

It's always golf isn't it, and to add insult to injury it takes hours.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

AlwaysFreezing · 23/05/2024 17:19

I don't think it does make a difference op. He's a father and a step father but he's not doing much fathering, is he?

The thing for me, whenever threads like this come up is why would someone that says they love you, want to see you struggle so?

Partnership is about sharing the load. Yeah, sure you might play to your strengths and split things to suit your specific relationship but this isnt being partners is it? Where's the team? Where's the care? The acknowledgement? The validation? These are all things that partnerships include for me.

It feels like you guys need a reset.

Victoriasponge12 · 23/05/2024 17:23

YANBU. When’s your day for you??

Some ppl seem to be making a big deal of the fact that he is stepdad to some / all of your DC. But even if he isn’t their dad, he’s still living with you as a family unit and benefiting from the domestic labour that you are doing (for free) - you mentioned doing the washing / cooking on your days off (paid) work when you worked part time. If he lived by himself he would no doubt be using his days off for house stuff, so why shouldn’t he have to just because you have children??

chillisalt · 23/05/2024 17:30

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

YouG0GlenCoco · 23/05/2024 17:43

RoobarbAndMustard · 23/05/2024 17:18

It's always golf isn't it, and to add insult to injury it takes hours.

And so bloody boring 😂

OP posts:
MooseAndSquirrelLoveFlannel · 23/05/2024 17:52

You need to take time for you. Pick a day, the kids are at school, DH is at work and plant your arse on that sofa and chill (or whatever you want to do for fun). If the housework isn't done one day a week, life will still go on.

AzureSheep · 23/05/2024 18:30

I think you need to be having a very frank conversation about his parenting. At a bare minimum, he should want to take your DC to their appointment once in a while (not every day he has off, but at least occasionally). And on his precious day off, the least he could do is do the morning school run. Preferably the afternoon pick up too. That still leaves him plenty of “him” time. “I don’t want to” is absolutely fucking pathetic - how are you letting this slide?

You seem to be making a lot of excuses for him considering how annoyed you were in your original post.

MiniPumpkin · 23/05/2024 20:10

It’s only fair if you also get a day to do what you like

FineWordsButterNoParsnips · 23/05/2024 20:13

Has he been paying in to a pension while you've been raising his kid?

simplebeetroot · 24/05/2024 07:53

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines - previously banned poster.

Luxell934 · 24/05/2024 08:13

Are all your kids at school?
If they are then you need to take a day 100% for your own leisure each fortnight like your husband. And at the weekend share the housework and give him a list he needs to do for his share.

Pancakeorcrepe · 24/05/2024 19:46

Wow, he really has checked out of parenting and family life!

GreenShadow · 27/05/2024 16:06

This just came up on my FB feed. You might like to show it to him.

"My wife does not work"...

My wife doesn't work!!!
Conversation between a husband (H) and a psychologist (P):
Q: what do you do for a living Mr. Rogers?
H: I work as an accountant in a bank.
P: Your wife?
H: She doesn't work. She's a housewife.
Q: Who makes breakfast for your family?
H: My wife, because she doesn't work
Q: What time does your wife wake?
H: She wakes up early because it has to be organised. She organizes the lunch for the children, ensures that they are well-dressed and combed, if they had breakfast, if they brush their teeth and take all their school supplies. She wakes with the baby and changes diapers and clothes. Breastfeeds and makes snacks as well.
Q: How do your children get to school?
H: My wife takes them to school, because she doesn't work.
P: After taking their children to school, what does she do?
H: Usually takes a while to figure something out that she can do while she is out, so she doesn't have to pack and unpack the carseat too many times, like drop off bills or to make a stop at the supermarket. Sometimes she forgets something and has to make the trip all over again, baby in tow. Once back home, she has to feed the baby lunch and breastfeed again, get the baby's diaper changed and ready for a nap, sort the kitchen and then will take care of laundry and cleaning of the house. You know, because she doesn't work.
P: In the evening, after returning home from the office, what are you doing?
H: Rest, of course. Well, I'm tired after working all day in the bank.
Q: What does your wife do at night?
H: She makes dinner, serves my children and I, washes the dishes, orders once more the house, makes sure the dog is put away as well as any left over dinner. After helping children with HW she gets them prepared to sleep in pajamas and the baby is in fresh diapers, gives warm milk, verifies they brush their teeth. Once in bed she wakes frequently to continue to breastfeed and possibly change a diaper if needed while we rest. Because she doesn't have to get up for work.

-This is the daily routine of many women all over the world, it starts in the morning and continues until the wee hours of the night... This is called "doesn't work"?!
Being a housewife has no diplomas, but has a key role in family life!
Enjoy and appreciate your wife, mother, grandma, aunt, sister, daughter... Because their sacrifice is priceless.
Somebody asked her...
You are a woman who works or is it just "housewife"??
She replied:
I work as a wife of the home, 24 hours a day..
I am a mother,
I am a woman,
I am a daughter,
I'm the alarm clock,
I'm the cook,
I'm the maid,
I am the master,
I'm the bartender,
I'm the babysitter,
I'm a nurse,
I am a manual worker,
I'm a security officer,
I'm the advisor,
I am the comforter,
I don't have a vacation,
I don't have a licence for disease.
I don't have a day off
I work day and night,
I'm on duty all the time,
I do not receive salary and...
Even so, I often hear the phrase:
" but what do you do all day?"

Dedicated to all the women who give their lives for the welfare of their families.

Scottsy200 · 27/05/2024 16:26

I’m more amazed at his “he didn’t want to” comment, erm is that an option, sorry but if he doesn’t at least help you and let you have some time on his day off every other week then He is a selfish horrible shit bag of a Dad and Husband

DrJonesIpresume · 27/05/2024 19:35

I'm unsure if I'm just being a brat though because I don't work.

You DO work. You work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, looking after high needs dc. You are on duty the entire time, and can never relax.

When's YOUR day off, when you can do what you like and completely switch off from all your responsibilities?

rwalker · 27/05/2024 19:39

You need to alternate the midweek day so you both get a day off a month

ItsNotInMyMind · 27/05/2024 20:22

What do you do while they are in school? That’s when you should take some down time.

WhatIsThatThumpingInTheGarden · 27/05/2024 21:34

Are all your children at school? Because if that's the case, surely you get quite a few hours for yourself. I understand they have additional needs but it can't be every single day.

This is spectacularly ignorant. SN kids often can't be worked around when they're home, they often need full attention. So the only time to do the mountains of admin that comes with having SN kids, as well as the usual life admin, and all the housework, food shopping, running errands etc, is when the kids aren't there. Meaning if she starts taking time for herself during school hours, chances are important things just won't get done and family life (read OP's life) will get harder as a result. Or they will get done, but only because she runs herself ragged another day working at double speed. Knowing this will be the result of taking 'time off' negates any relaxing qualities of it.

I am usually upstairs with dd until she's asleep which can be 9-10pm, come down and make lunches for the next day

And what is husband doing whilst you do this? Let me guess - whatever he likes. He should be doing either bedtime or housework, lunches etc.

He does take the kids out at the weekend to the park or something.

There you are, talking like he's doing you a favour... And what are you doing while he's taking the kids out? Housework, I'll bet.

You should be putting your feet up and both doing the housework when he returns home. If you did start expecting his help on return, I'll bet he stops taking them out. Proving he sees parenting the kids as 'work' when it's him doing it, equivalent to you doing housework. But when you're parenting the kids it's nothing, definitely not equal to him being at work. Funny that.

He's treating you like you're staff.

You may want to 'work things out' and not LTB, but you can't make a relationship work all by yourself, it takes two. At the moment he's treating your family life as something he can drop into and out of as he chooses, an optional extra in his life, instead of seeing it as his duty to contribute practically as well as financially. OP, you ever hear the phrase "don't prioritise someone who treats you as an option"?

If you want to stay together, one last chance for him to step up and treat you as an equal. Or else force some semblance of equality on him (it won't be truly equal because you'll still end up doing majority evenings/weekends/nights etc) by returning to work and he'll have to pay a fair amount towards the full time nanny or whatever is needed to make that situation work, with both of you having equal spends after bills/nanny/children related expenses etc are paid.

If it's not possible for you jointly to earn enough to pay the bills and the nanny, then he needs to recognise the huge huge sacrifice you're making by giving up your career to be a SAHM, be grateful and treat you with the proper respect for it.

Marvelsquirrel · 28/05/2024 07:39

I can understand a bit why your husband thinks the way he does about the day off.
I’ve just gone back to working part time after a decade of being a stay at home mum. I’ve realised that, during work hours, I am fairly restricted in what I can do. I’m on someone else’s time. I know that’s obvious but I had forgotten what it feels like. I was always annoyed when my husband expected a day off when I never get a day off from being a mum. But I now realise I got lots of little breaks and could set my own agenda with the kids to an extent. I got the time I needed to paint my nails, drink tea in the garden, phone my mum in lots of little chunks during the week. Being responsible for the kids and house is hard work but I felt I was more free to choose. Being employed is so restrictive and you have to get your needs and family life in the bit of time that’s left at the end of each day.
Clearly it’s unreasonable to leave you with the kids and go play golf every day off. You need to talk and work out a fairer balance together. But I don’t think he is a terrible husband. You are both just working really hard at the moment and craving a break.

1HappyTraveller · 28/05/2024 08:55

YANBU.

He’s a parent. You don’t get ‘days off’. You can both talk to each other about each having some time to yourselves but that needs to be fair and meet both of your needs. He works an extra 30 mins a day… boo hoo. Does he realise that also means you’re doing an increased share of the parenting on those days?! He needs to get a grip. Or compromise - he can have the day off but you alternate them so that the next day off work he has, you get a day off and he has to do the drop offs and appointments.

He’s being incredibly selfish. Stand your ground and set this boundary from the off or he’ll be taking the p*ss with it for years to come.

EDIT: I didn’t read the full thread before posting so appreciate that others may have said this already.

Sillystrumpet · 28/05/2024 09:05

I just think this is so shitty op. I can’t imagine a situation where I would bow out of family life like this on the regular , look at my husband and say but that days just for me, so you do everything, and fuck off out of it.

it’s just really shitty behaviour. It’s not about whether you work or not. You should be working as a team. It’s horrible he behaves like this. So selfish.

BCBird · 28/05/2024 09:06

I.understand he wants some down time but cannot understand why he doesn't seem to realise u do too. Couldn't u do something together? It should be 50 50 re free time. Make a regular arrangements/ rota re this, it's only fair

bonzaitree · 28/05/2024 09:43

Take every other Saturday to go and do something for you.

Seems fair that he gets a day for him provided you also get a day for you.