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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Dh said he wants to leave me because I'm a domestic nazi (sorry long and petty)

119 replies

AlmightyMess · 23/08/2013 10:40

Have name changed as lots of personal information here.

Dh fell out last night, then it carried on this morning.

The situation in our house is like this. We have a small shop, Dh works 6 days a week and can do long stretches without a day off. He leaves the house at 8am when he's dropping dc at school/nursery (2-3 times a week, 10 if not) and doesn't get back till almost 8 at night.

I am meant to work in the shop 2 days a week, but during the holidays I have only been in once every three weeks (childcare is too expensive).

Dh has worked incredibly hard to keep the shop going through the recession, I respect him allot for this. It has been very stressful and he has fallen in and out of depression with the weight of it all. He will not go to the doctor as he thinks he can pull himself out of it.

I do the majority of housework and childcare. I get up almost every morning with the kids at 6-6.30. I cook 6 nights a week and do all the kids meals unless I'm working. My house is not a pristine palace, I barely hold it together to get everyone out the door fed and dressed in clean clothes. I know this is how most people are so I don't expect a medal.

What I would like is a little bit of help with the housework. I'm happy to do all the washing and most of the cleaning. Dh does do general tidying and will sweep kitchen floor, hoover occasionally. He will also do DIY stuff when he has time.

I do like to go to bed knowing that the kitchen is clean for the kids getting up in the morning. I don't want it all bleached and perfect, just the dishes done (put away preferably, but not necessary), any beer bottle put away and counters to have no food on them.

I made dinner last night. We sat down together, dh asked me if I'd like to have sex that night and I said yes. I asked him if he'd tidy the kitchen and he said yes, then he called me a domestic nazi. I said that wasn't fair and he said it was a joke. He finished his meal then went next door to watch tv. I was still eating, I thought that was rude and I wondered why he wasn't cleaning up.

I then ran around getting the kids stuff ready for school. At about 10ish I asked dh if he planned on doing the kitchen as it was getting late. He asked if it needed to be done right now and I said as long as it's done before we go to bed as I hate getting up to rotting food on the counters, dishes and beer bottles.

He then went to the bedroom to wait for me. I went in and he asked why I seemed uptight. I said I can't switch off knowing I'm going to get up to that mess in the kitchen. He had a huge strop, went off to do the dishes and then wouldn't talk to me, then went to sleep on the couch.

This morning we fell out and he says I'm neurotic and uptight about everything. He said he pays all the bills and I reminded him that looking after his children is a full time job that he would have to pay someone to do it if I didn't. He said he would do the dishes but didn't want to have to live to my rules. Apparently I want everything done the way I want it, when I want it.

He shouted completely inappropriate things in front of the kids, like how he works 12 hours a day and do I want him to go kill himself. He said he was leaving but has since emailed me work to do today (that I asked for).

I am exhausted, one friend tells me I am neurotic but her dh is the same and doesn't do the housework she asks him to do. She thinks my situation is normal and I should just live with it if I want to keep a happy family.

My other friend, who I haven't told about any of these issue thinks I work too hard as I don't have any leisure time and dh takes the piss.

Sorry this is so long and sounds so petty but I really don't have any time to myself and I should be able to ask my dh to do a small bit of housework without all this anger.

Am I being petty and neurotic? Is this situation normal, do most women feel like a servant to their families?

OP posts:
Offred · 23/08/2013 16:26

Sorry
Splitting home/family life and the shop more equally

larrygrylls · 23/08/2013 16:37

Offred,

The sad thing is your own blind prejudice and agenda prevents you from actually reading the thread. See below:

"It was hugely successful before the recession and we lived a good life then. But it crashed and it's building again slowly, I think he can get it back to where it was. I want to help him get it back, I've retrained to do work that will help. I would go get a job elsewhere but that wouldn't help the shop."

She is not retraining, she has retrained. There is a big difference; the difference being that it is not a current time commitment. She is not a full time SAHM but, at the moment, that is her main role. The shop does not currently provide a great income but it did and both the OP and her husband believe it will again. Surely that is their decision to make, not yours?

The OP has two children, age 7 and 3, one fully at school, the other about to start pre school. I suspect, during term time, her work load will drop substantially. The ideal is for both partners to do 50/50, or so I believe (and thought you believed too). Surely that is over an annual cycle, not every single day. Would it be a fair marriage if the woman and man did 50/50 in the school hols and it worked out more like 70/30 (in favour of the man) in term time? In addition, what evidence is there in this thread that the OP is doing more work (in total) than her husband? I just don't see it, although of course it may be true. It is just not clearly evidenced in the OP's posts.

In addition, you assume that looking after two children of that age gives zero free time. That may be true, it may not. Some children are great at having a couple of hours of "quiet time" a day where they go to their own rooms and read or play quietly, others not so much. Equally, it is not stressful or taxing to pop out for coffee/soft play with other mothers while the children potter around. Not nearly as hard work as staying on your feet in a shop all day. Finally, the OP may have some help with childcare from family, either regular or ad hoc. Without drilling much deeper, I don't know the answer to any of the above and nor do you.

It is entirely your view that a SAHM is a "lower status role". To me, that just proves your own prejudice (although, given that you are on this site virtually all the time, you are either a SAHM yourself or have an enviably cushy job).

Ultimately, you are not bringing advice that the OP is interested in. She does not want to change her role or leave her husband. So, aside from prejudice, what exactly are you bringing to the party?

Fairenuff · 23/08/2013 16:44

Do you know, if he'd said he was too tired to do the dishes, I would've done them and none of this would have come up

This is what I said way back on page 1. Why did he say he would do them if he didn't want to?

It sounds to me like he didn't want to but grudgingly agreed and then when he sat down after dinner he couldn't be arsed to get up again. I'm sure we've all done that on occasion.

However, it isn't really fair to do that and leave it for you to sort out either that same evening or the following morning.

On this occasion, he was in the wrong, but this is just a symptom of the real problems of lack of time and money.

I agree with others who suggest looking at getting a different job. I think you would both be happier if you both worked out of the home and shared the housework evenly.

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm · 23/08/2013 16:57

" dh asked me if I'd like to have sex that night and I said yes. I asked him if he'd tidy the kitchen"

Prhaps thats why he agreed to do the dishes........

Offred · 23/08/2013 18:49

It isn't my view for god's sake. How utterly ridiculous.

I was, as I'm sure is clear, referring to the views on this thread that unpaid work is of lower status.

As far as the business goes it is obviously also their choice. What I was meaning was that everyone banging on about how he does more is wrong and he should be given extra credit for working so hard because she is dedicating her life to his dream and the dream is costing the family a fair amount.

Offred · 23/08/2013 18:53

Oops, I meant people banging on about him doing more and him being given extra credit are wrong because..

Honestly don't know why I'm surprised though that larry has written a whole post banging on about why exactly he thinks 'wife work' is lesser than paid work and accusing me of inferring it is of lower status at the same time, how bloody typical(!)

Offred · 23/08/2013 18:58

Oh and btw I was not assuming anything about the op's free time. She said she has no free time herself a couple of times if you read that's been dismissed entirely by several posters have have, i think rather incredibly, stated they don't see how that is possible without even knowing her.

saggyhairyarse · 23/08/2013 20:01

Nah, not wonder woman, you do what you have to do. I never said that OP and my XBF partner were the same but that I could relate to her issue. I too hate having to clear up stuff in the morning from the night before but I dont think I emphasised that as I had a bit of a rant Blush

somersethouse · 23/08/2013 20:18

saggy Grin

WhiteandGreen · 23/08/2013 20:32

When I was a SAHM the only chore I asked DH to do was 50% of the washing up. (He only worked for a couple of hours a day)

He would start not doing it as a way of deliberately pissing me off.

Jengnr · 23/08/2013 20:34

He should have done the pots, yeah. But there's no reason why he couldn't have done them in the morning if he couldn't be arsed at night. In that respect I think you' re a bit unreasonable.

Also 'rotting food' really? Not wiping the counter overnight doesn't mean you'll have rotting food on the side.

Sounds like you're both stressed to fuck and you need to sit down and work out a better distribution of time and jobs.

Lazyjaney · 23/08/2013 22:42

I can see both sides of this one. "You need to talk", as they say :)

Viviennemary · 24/08/2013 20:21

If your DH works these extremely long hours then I don't think he should be expected to do housework on top of this. But I don't think he should be making a mess for you to clean up. I think if you can't bear to go to bed with the kitchen messy then you really have to clean it yourself in view of the fact your DH works these long hours.

I agree with swap roles for a week and then it will become more clear who is working the hardest.

unlucky83 · 24/08/2013 21:09

Haven't read all the posts but quite a few...
Is he rushed off his feet all day at the shop - or is he sitting around for most of it just having to be there?
OP works in the shop so knows how hard the work is there ...
Also if he lived on his own and worked 12 hr shifts - guess what? He'd have to cook his own meals, do his own washing up, wash his own clothes, etc etc...asking him to tidy up after himself is perfectly reasonable - she has 2 DCs not 3...
When I was single, no DCs I often worked twelve - even sixteen hour physically hard shifts - sometimes 90+ hrs a week - one day off - I still did my shopping, fed and cleaned up after myself, washed my clothes, etc etc ...
Always feel that being in a relationship should mean an easier life for both - sharing things - not just for the 'main earner' to have an easier life as they have someone to run around after them...
Doing housework and childcare is boring and monotonous -and thankless Op has said that she would like to be in the workshop more etc - maybe doing something she enjoys more ...finds more rewarding and is appreciated for...

happyhev · 24/08/2013 21:22

Some of the responses on this thread are so depressing. Unlucky and offred I couldn't agree more.

Inertia · 25/08/2013 08:50

Can you not clear the kitchen up together ? It'd take half the time , you could chat while you were doing it, and then you would have a little more tome to relax afterwards.

In our house, as long as dh is home, we both clear up no matter who cooked.

TheDoctrineOfPositivityYes · 25/08/2013 08:54

He doesn't do 12 hour shifts, he's out of the house for 12 hours

anastaisia · 25/08/2013 14:15

OP - did I read it right that you do work at home when you're with the children as well? You asked him to send you some of it?

So in termtime you work 2 days out of the home childfree, and you also work from home while caring for the children a number of days a week?

Tortoiseonthehalfshell · 25/08/2013 14:41

You're both tired, you're both stressed, you have a tiny kitchen and no money and no free time and it all sucks.

The golden rule, obviously, is that both people should have equal leisure time. In my house it doesn't matter who does what when, exactly - the rule is that you don't sit down if your partner is still working, basically.

I do think that a lot of this is related to your DH's depression, OP. I can see why he's blowing up over something minor if he feels like he's wading through mud every day. I don't mean that puts your needs underneath his, or anything - but I do think that if he's depressed and unmedicated, then the amount that he is doing is probably a huge, massive effort for him as it is, and no wonder he feels sorry for himself being asked to do more. Can you push that issue with him, gently?

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