To think 'now you all bloody know what I do all day?' (lighthearted)

[MycatsaPirate]

I don't work due to ill health but dp does and teen does before going to uni and DD2 is obviously at school all day.

I frequently get annoyed with them leaving their stuff everywhere and when I moan about having to pick up random shit lying about get the 'well you don't do anything all day' type comments coming back at me (mainly dp and teen to be honest).

Last week I had to go into hospital for surgery. I made a list of all the things I do every day when they are not here (over 30) and stuck it on the wall so they could allocate the stuff between them.

I got home on Friday and am on complete bed rest for at least two weeks, can't even sit in a chair for more than 15 minutes, and after that will be very restricted with doing anything much at home except maybe chopping up veg for dinner.

None of them seem to have sat down at all over the entire weekend. I don't think they really appreciated all the stuff I did until they actually had to start doing it for themselves.

I am feeling smugger than a smug thing in a smuggly blanket.

Have you ever sat and written down all those little things you do daily without thinking about them? It amounts to ALOT!

This is PirateCate - smug in bed :o

Are you smugger than a dog not wearing a Cone Of Shame?

I hope you are getting looked after well! Hopefully you will have to do a bit less when you have recovered (it's going to take ageeeess to fully recover, right )

DH managed quite well when I was in hospital for brain surgery, but he didn't sort the washing, and left it all for me to do when I got home. Although he had moved it to our bedroom so no one could see it

He has been much more appreciative of what I do since he had to do it all when I was in hospital!

AHEM

Basking in the glow of your smugness!
DH worked long hours with a long commute, I was sahm. My health deteriorated, and then he retired. DCs grown and flown.
He has taken on a few tasks, and I keep trying to teach him new skills, especially as I may sadly end up in your situation quite soon, quite suddenly. As it is, I can't lift, bend, carry, etc - or, at least, I'm not supposed to!
It's funny. He is very intelligent and competent at work and study, but teaching him to sort laundry nearly broke him! I have now created a huge chart of what gets washed with what, with which detergent at what temperature. It's not nuclear physics - if it were, he could do that!
After the laundry sheet I may graduate to a general list of everything else.
Enjoy your smugfest - and I hope you keep them to some of the list once you are well enough to do a bit more.
Heal well

Yes - I found an emergency appendectomy really helped DH to appreciate me!

Good to know that you have a cat with you. They are essential. I think you need to go through a cantankerous stage where you keep demanding different food at inconvenient moments.

This phrase I once saw sums it up-
Cleaning the house whilst kids are growing is like shovelling snow while it's still snowing!

That's what I keep telling myself...

kickass I have just requested toast - It's 11pm. He has to get up with DD2 in the morning :o However the fact that he feels the need to take an entire week off work to just keep on top of the house stuff makes me feel utterly justified.

Olivia :o

Glad to know I am not alone in my smugness. I wholly recommend a few days in hospital with lots of drugs followed by a lengthy recuperation period. It's great!

Sorry but I just have to share this video...

Op lie there in your smugness and enjoy it!

I dare you to request a pirate patch for your cat.

Totally enjoy your smugness 😀 I was in hospital for 3 days - my dh said - omg I couldn't be a single parent !!!

Smug fest! Smugger than a humungous smuggly thing. Best wishes for your recovery (I hope it is speedy but obvs tell the family it is prolonged-extending smuggliness even longer) x

Two things came to mind.

Firstly, someone undertaking activities out of their routine will of course find it takes longer than than the person who does it everyday. I'm sure you wouldn't just slip into someone else's household, job or study as smoothly as the person you'd be replacing (see: every episode of wife swap ever).

But secondly, it seemed a little feeble to be smug over the fact that you've developed a situation where your partner and kids are incompetent at the normal activities of everyday life. Not knowing that lunches need to be made, or being able to leave the house on time for an event? Ffs! Sounds like they're being incompetent at best, or willfully disrespectful of the gruntwork that supports their day-to-day existence at worst. I'd be feeling annoyed, not smug, about either situation, and would want to remedy it.

enjoy your smugness op. hope your recovery is slow and pain free so you can get another week in bed good.

ex thought that the new (one year old) fridge was lovely and white as it was new.

I suspected that DP didn't realise how much I get through before he comes home form work - it is more than he does but I am home 2 hours before him so I do have more time at home. We generally have about the same amount of downtime so it's fair.
But he thought I sat about reading and eating cake.
So I went away for a few days and left him with a list also. Not long after that I overheard him saying to a friend of ours, how he hadn't realised just how long it all takes and how much I get done before he comes home. I too felt smug :)
OP I hope you are soon on the mend and that your family remember this lesson they have learned :)

I love the magic coffee table video!!

aussie You are missing the point. My family are not incompetent at all. They just take me for granted a little bit and don't think I do much. I very much appreciate that Dp always does the ironing as I hate it.

Yesterday Dp cleaned the kitchen, well half of it and did three loads of washing and told me he 'hadn't stopped all day'. I didn't point out that cleaning the kitchen takes half an hour and washing is not a massive job. Teen did the ironing on her day off and also cooked dinner.

I am still just lying about doing nothing. Pain is manageable as long as I keep to the drug regime.

I did ask Dp yesterday if he appreciated how much I do and he kind of ummed and aahed and said 'well it's just looking after the house, it's not really difficult'. I didn't point out that he has taken the week off work to do the house!! I have no idea what's going to happen next week when he's back at work and it's half term. :o

Happy to differ in opinion of what constitutes incompetence. You, of course, have the full picture of what they're like. I'm only saying that from such brief descriptions (cleaning half a kitchen and 3x loads washing as taking 'all day' and faffing around to get ready for a planned event), I wouldn't jump to describe them as overly competent.

Well we'll agree to disagree aussie

Half of mumsnet are queuing up for my dp since the 'pirate cat oven glove' episode anyway. He may not be completely competent and organised but he loves me, he makes me laugh and his heart is in the right place I'm not sure anything in the kitchen is in the right place

And this was lighthearted. Why does there always have to be one person who wants to make the Op feel like shit?

He's been sat keeping me company today but made me a lovely lunch, tidied and hoovered upstairs and downstairs, drove teen to get her hair cut and is generally just being my lovely dp.