Every family has an invisible fairy who does it all—and that’s usually the woman.
Funny story
During a friendly chat, my husband declared he was just as much a "full-fledged parent as I am." I laughed so hard I almost spilled my wine, which offended him deeply. I thought he was joking, but it turned out he was completely serious.
I cleared my throat and asked which school and grade the kids were in, their teachers’ names, what regular medication our daughter takes, if our son had a competition that weekend, and when the next tutoring, field trip, and parent meeting were. Silence. Then he muttered, "Okay, you win."
The drama
For years, I’ve been the one buying all the gifts for his family, like I assume most wives do. I even bought a toy for my brother-in-law’s little boy early November, which my husband rudely dismissed as "silly nonsense."
I got so upset I told him that this year he’d be the one buying gifts for his family, because if that’s how "grateful" he was, I was out. We didn’t talk about it again until Christmas Eve. He asked where the gifts were, and I reminded him it was his job this time—had he forgotten? That year, my mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law got nothing.
Of course, I didn’t leave out the little boy—he got his "silly nonsense" Godzilla figure nicely wrapped and was thrilled. And you know what’s crazy? My mother-in-law was mad at me for the whole fiasco, not at her son.
The outrage
It’s annoying you always bring this up, and I’m not even forgetful!
My partner said this, and I told him I wouldn’t remind him of anything anymore. He arrogantly replied, "No need!"
In the next two weeks, he missed a dentist appointment, forgot a friend’s get-together, and my mother-in-law called me in tears because her only child hadn’t even wished her a happy birthday.
Wrapped up
My fiancé told me he’d been invited to his boss’s place. I thought, great, now I get to figure out what to bring. He quickly shut that down, saying I didn’t need to worry about it—he’d take care of the gift.
He went shopping—with help from a colleague—and proudly showed me the wine, bath bomb, scented candle, and fancy chocolates. I nodded approvingly. But on the dinner day, running late, he anxiously asked where the gift was. I reminded him it was at the bottom of the cabinet. He said, "You didn’t wrap it?!" Honey, you didn’t ask me to, and I never thought to because it was supposed to be "your job." And he even grumbled while I frantically searched for ribbon and a gift bag to make it presentable…
The perfectionism
I was going through a busy period at work with no time for anything. I told my husband he should either take the car for an interior cleaning or do it himself, because if my in-laws came over, I wasn’t going to be embarrassed by a dirty car. He looked confused and mumbled that his car was always clean inside.
I told him, "That’s because I clean it every month!" Turns out, he hadn’t noticed this for the past year and thought the interior was clean because he was "meticulous." I thought I’d lose it.
