Marriage is an act of compromise. Who’s in charge of the dishes? Who chaperones the kid’s school field trip? Whose side of the family gets Thanksgiving and Christmas?
The Husband Made All The Meals
Whether simple or complex, this constant dance of give and take is the foundation of building a life with someone.
As gender roles become less and less prominent, husbands find themselves splitting or wholly taking over traditional wives’ roles.
One family got so accustomed to the husband making all the meals that when he missed a day, it led to a major falling out.
His Wife Didn’t Belong in The Kitchen
The husband loves his wife and son. His wife works as a nurse and, coincidentally, is a terrible cook. Her cooking is so bad that the couple decided she should never approach a stove again; the husband would do all the cooking.
“She sucks at it,” he shared, “and it would be easier on our tastebuds if I cook for us.”
They Wanted to Eat Better
Like most adults, after New Year, the couple resolved to get back in shape. The husband researched macronutrients (the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats found in food) and “calorie-friendly recipes”.
He dedicated himself to prepping meals ahead of time, something those on a stricter diet might find useful. He portioned out breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each week in advance.
His Wife Didn’t Enjoy The Process
The meal prep approach worked wonderfully for him. His wife? Not so much. “My wife stuck with it for a few weeks but ultimately decided to quit.”
The Husband Got a Great Routine Going
For the husband, it wasn’t a big deal. He worked a regular schedule, starting at six in the morning and ending at two in the afternoon.
On his day off, he would make “six days’ worth of three meals” for himself.
For family dinners, he went back to the usual routine—making them both for himself and the family. It worked out well.
His Wife Was a Nurse
Nursing is a career that often involves long, late shifts. Working a twelve-hour shift is standard for many nurses, according to the American Nurses Association.
As a nurse, the wife frequently worked much later than the husband. Coming home to assemble a dinner would be more of a hurdle for her, so his contribution to that area was important for the family to function.
The Husband Had To Work Late
Until one day, when the well-oiled machine of family meals hit a snag: the husband’s overnight shift.
“[I left] last week Thursday morning for work and planned on coming back Friday morning and stopping through the home, grabbing anything I needed, then heading [back] into the office,” the husband explained.
His Wife Would Get Dinner Ready For Herself And The Kids
He’d told his wife weeks in advance of the overnight shift. “I figured that she would be able to make sure she and our kid got dinner that night and breakfast that next morning.”
Turns out, she couldn’t.
His Wife Ate All His Meals
While he worked his overnight shift, his wife helped herself to all three of the day’s prepped meals.
The husband dropped by between shifts, expecting to find his food waiting for him, and instead found an empty spot where his storage containers had once been.
Running late, he had no other option but to leave for work empty-handed. “I don’t have time to ask my wife, nor do I wanna wake her up early before her shift, so I just go. I end up skipping breakfast and lunch.”
He Couldn’t Wait For Dinner
After his shift, he returned home starving. He thought he’d have dinner waiting, but that too, was long gone.
“[That] is what set me off,” the husband wrote.
He demanded to know what happened to his food. The wife admitted to eating it. “I had portioned out food for an entire day, and she ate all of it in a single night.”
It Was His Fault
Instead of apologizing, the wife doubled down.
She told her husband that it was his fault the food got eaten. He failed to make food for her and their son, forcing them to eat the prepped meals. To add insult to injury, she called him selfish for complaining about the missing food.
Things Went Downhill Quickly After That
Instead of sitting down and talking things out, the husband retaliated. “If I’m selfish for expecting her to feed herself for one night, I would just not cook anymore as I’m doing a lot of work for a selfish person.”
Cooking For Himself and His Son
For the last week, he stored his meals at work. For dinners, he cooked for himself and “only one portion small enough for [his son] to eat by himself.”
His wife called the behavior “petty,” but he disagreed. “I think I’m justified, and I’m pushing her to learn a life skill she should have by now.”
Social Media Reacted to The Story
Comments were divided. Several sided with the husband’s choice. “You clearly meal-prepped for work. I’d be really upset if I thought I had food and my partner ate all of it. Then had the nerve to call me petty when I was the one cooking all the meals. She only had to make something else for one night.”
“Eating his food and then calling him selfish is some A+ narcissistic behavior,” another social media user wrote. One even agreed that the behavior was petty but called it 100% “deserved petty”.
Don’t Be Childish
Some users thought the situation was a bit more ambiguous.
“This is a ridiculous and petty situation all around,” one commenter wrote, calling their communication skills worse than a preschooler’s. “Your partner is not your child to be educated by you, nor your enemy to be taught a lesson.”
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Conclusion
Marriage is not happily ever after. It is work. It agrees to compromise and communicate. It’s choosing each other even when things go wrong.
Hopefully, the husband and wife will remember this and find a solution that works for both of them—and their son.
This article was produced and syndicated by TPR Teaching. Source.
I'm an Irish tutor and founder of TPR Teaching. I started teaching in 2016 and have since taught in the UK, Spain, and online.
I love learning new things about the English language and how to teach it better. I'm always trying to improve my knowledge, so I can better meet the needs of others!
I enjoy traveling, nature walks, and soaking up a new culture. Please share the posts if you find them helpful!