How I drive my DH nuts (and other stories)

[furrcats]

Okay, you have just come up with the only valid argument that I have ever heard for acquiring a dog... 

(N.B.  I love dogs--OTHER people's dogs.  I just don't have the temperament to have one or the time and energy it would take to care for one properly!)

D'you think I could manage to train my cats to do something similar?

Does one of your cats have "issues"?  Domino pees on any fabric that is left on the floor, like  socks and towels.   

So do you have to keep all the clothes on the bed?   

[Thipu1]

One of the things (among many) that drives Mr. Thipu nuts is the way I put the flatware in he drain basket.  I like to put them working end up.  To me that seems cleaner than putting them with the spoon bowls and the fork tines down.  He prefers it the other way.

I'm also horrible about putting clean clothes away.  My armchair in the bedroom is always piled high. 

For his part, he seems incapable of closing a cabinet door.  After he makes dinner, I feel like Vanna White.  He's also a bug about having the bed properly tucked in.  It isn't unusual for him to tuck in sheets during the middle of the night.  That's a rude awakening! 

[Layla Miller]

One that happened this morning, and it wasn't the first time:

DH and I trade off on showers on busy mornings--I take my shower, then he hops in after me while I dry off/get dressed/etc. in the bathroom.  This is a good system...except for those times when I turn the light off out of habit on my way out. 

Fortunately I usually either catch myself and turn it right back on again or he's quick enough to call after me before I leave him completely in the dark!  Good thing for me he's so easygoing.  I don't know that I'd shrug it off as easily if DH was the one leaving me in a horror movie scenario. 

[Irishkitty]

One of the things (among many) that drives Mr. Thipu nuts is the way I put the flatware in he drain basket.  I like to put them working end up.  To me that seems cleaner than putting them with the spoon bowls and the fork tines down.  He prefers it the other way.

I have to have the spoons and forks up but the knives down, especially the sharp ones. Took me ages to train DH.

He also continues conversations that I didn't know we were having. We'll be talking about how we're going to travel somewhere, which airline should we use and next thing he'll be telling me that we need to update the computer. I'm like    What does that have to do with anything? And he'll tell me I should know, it's so obvious! ...Because we'll be booking online! 

[readingchick]

When my SO wears T-shirts, sometimes the bottom of the sleeve will roll up. It drives me batty....so I'll fix it so it looks normal. He always laughs at me when I do it.

[lilfox]

I irritate DH by telling him work stories.  I know he's not interested in hearing the latest about our inane budget management process, but I can't help telling him anyway.

He, on the other hand, will never unload the dishwasher, because that's "my" job from the Great Chore Split of 2007.  Even though he works from home now and I'm out of the house all day.  He thinks it's a gateway chore - if he starts doing that, what else will I stop doing and expect him to pick up??

[Sirius]

Mr. Sirius hates to shop, and he will wear clothes until they are quite literally falling apart.  The last time we were going anywhere, he put on a holey T-shirt then put a flannel shirt on over it, and said to me, "I could hear you thinking clear over here:  'You're not wearing that shirt, are you?'"

[KimChi]

I irritate DH by telling him work stories.  I know he's not interested in hearing the latest about our inane budget management process, but I can't help telling him anyway.

DH tells me his work stories and I annoy him but tuning out. In my defense, I don't really mean to do it but DH's work is very technical and I don't understand half of it. Conversations typically go like this:

DH: So, the flabber broke and there was nothing coming through on jabber so California had to re-route their flibber...

Me: What do you think about painting the living room?

[TootsNYC]

In our home I'm the one who plans things down to the last microbe, whereas Mr. Sirius is very much "catch as catch can" about things.  I know it drives him up the wall that I pack for a vacation a week in advance, but I've discovered that if I just throw things in a suitcase and go I always forget something important; the last time I did that I forgot my notebook with all my phone numbers and underwear.

You keep your undies in a notebook? That's a novel idea.

[Moray]

In our home I'm the one who plans things down to the last microbe, whereas Mr. Sirius is very much "catch as catch can" about things.  I know it drives him up the wall that I pack for a vacation a week in advance, but I've discovered that if I just throw things in a suitcase and go I always forget something important; the last time I did that I forgot my notebook with all my phone numbers and underwear.

You keep your undies in a notebook? That's a novel idea.

It keeps them neatly pressed.

[violinp]

In our home I'm the one who plans things down to the last microbe, whereas Mr. Sirius is very much "catch as catch can" about things.  I know it drives him up the wall that I pack for a vacation a week in advance, but I've discovered that if I just throw things in a suitcase and go I always forget something important; the last time I did that I forgot my notebook with all my phone numbers and underwear.

You keep your undies in a notebook? That's a novel idea.

It keeps them neatly pressed.

 

[Marisol]

I unplug everything I can and I put the toaster in a cabinet when not in use.  Drives him crazy.  It also drives him crazy if I put anything on the floor in the hallway (however temporarily).  He trips over stuff without fail even if I have told him I was setting something down and even if it is very visible.

In fact, that is something that he does that bugs me.  He trips over everything.  He also runs into the corners of things.  So if there is a new obstacle he is well aware of, he will still crash alarmingly into it.  Size doesn't matter either.  A single piece of paper askew on the counter can cause him to run into said counter.  I do not kid.

I bug him by moving things and putting them away where they belong.  He bugs me in that he can never find anything even when I tell him where it is and it is in plain sight and is where I always put it. 

[hobish]

I irritate DH by telling him work stories.  I know he's not interested in hearing the latest about our inane budget management process, but I can't help telling him anyway.

He, on the other hand, will never unload the dishwasher, because that's "my" job from the Great Chore Split of 2007.  Even though he works from home now and I'm out of the house all day.  He thinks it's a gateway chore - if he starts doing that, what else will I stop doing and expect him to pick up??

I am totally stealing that. I don't touch the dishwasher, either, which is kind of sad because neither Gish or I are particularly married to a certain method of loading it, unlike most people i know. We may be the only couple who can peacably load a dishwasher ... or could if i ever loaded it 

[Kaypeep]

Apparently I don't know how to use the tv remote properly.  We're not supposed to watch any commercials and must surf non stop until our program re-starts, even though we miss the first few minutes because we were surfing and got caught up watching something else.  We never see an 'entire' episode of anything. 

Oh, and I freeze bread.  It would go bad because it's used so infrequently, but I'm 'crazy' for keeping bread in the freezer.

[jpcher]

One of the things (among many) that drives Mr. Thipu nuts is the way I put the flatware in he drain basket.  I like to put them working end up.  To me that seems cleaner than putting them with the spoon bowls and the fork tines down.  He prefers it the other way.

I have to have the spoons and forks up but the knives down, especially the sharp ones. Took me ages to train DH.

This is something that drove LDH nuts. I put the handles up, for safety . . . especially when the DDs were younger and started helping unload the DW. My other thought was you grab the handle end when unloading and don't touch the eating end.

It drove LDH up the wall when I put my used tea bag in the sink. On the weekends, after breakfast, dishes done, I loved me a few cups of tea to read the newspaper with. I'd use the same tea bag for 2-3 cups (I don't like strong tea.) He insisted that I put the tea bag on a saucer. I insisted that the sink was clean, why dirty another dish? (Once I was done with the tea-bag, I threw it away and re-washed the sink.)



Sigh. I remember these bickers with fondness.

I'm sending heart-felt smiles to all of you. Little things are what makes the world go-'round. Cherish the simple conflicts, it's what makes you and your spouses work so well together as individuals.