In a marriage, one often assumed that the man of the household is the handy-man as well. Apparently NOT SO in mine...
I often sigh in despair or cringe in horror when I asked my partner to try to fix something. However, I have learnt my painful lessons that it is better off to leave any handy work unresolved than try to get my man to do it because whenever he is involved, double work for me is almost ensured. Not only do I have to fix the original problem, I often am faced with additional PROBLEM he caused. It's almost laughable and unimaginable, that my husband is more useless than me when it comes to fixing up household stuff. All he is useful for is brute strength.
I am often the one to patch things up, fixed the congested pipes, seal up gaps and holes and stick loosen furniture back together. At our old place where I grew up, I use to help my mum patch the toilet ceilings and paint over it. Tough and tiring job but I figure better me than my mum while my brothers were off serving army. Suddenly now, its like deja-vu except now I only have myself to lean on. Sometimes I wonder, so what if I am one of those "Help - I - am-feeble -I- cannot -do -anything - on- my -own" sort of woman? I often wonder how it feels like to claim inability to do anything and leave it to the man to do everything. Frankly, I'm torn between disgusted at that sort of helplessness, and yet a simmering envy that they can get away with it. SIGHHHHHhhhhhh..
Back to my "plight".
Just the other day, the lights in the bathroom as well as the dining room were blown. My partner said he would fix it but after 2 weekends, nothing happened of course. Fed up at the inaction and not the sort to repeat my request the 2nd time, I decided DIY was faster. I grabbed a step ladder to fix the living room bulbs. Easy breezy. However, when I step up to inspect the bathroom light, it was impossible to figure out how to open the casing, enclosing the bulb. It is one of those stupid design that you need to open the glass cover but no matter how I looked at it, I couldnt find an opening, so i pushed the casing back into the false ceiling.
I mentioned about the bulb casing to my husband that night. He said he would looked at it the next day sat. Comes sat, first I had to go get the ladder for him, and then he couldnt figure out either. My heart feared for the light as I saw him trying to force it open with tools and so I told him to stop it before he ruined the whole thing or I had a premonition I will end up having to replace the whole light than the bulb alone. He didnt answer me and I went off busying myself with other chores.
In less than 5 mins, he returned to the kitchen, and announced for unknown reason, ALL THE LIGHTS in the bathroom have blown. It would be unsurprising to say, I was rather ANNOYED. How could he have blown 2 other light source when I had already told him to stop? Secretly, I wished then I never got him involved. I told him to get it fix then as I was busy uncovering the oven hood to clean the fan.
After 20mins of silence, I went to check on the bathroom. The lights were still blown, and my husband was happily on the computer. It was as if informing me that the lights were blown has solved everything and his job was done. So instead of solving my initial problem, he had now CREATED more problems for me. With a silent groan, I was forced to make an extra trip to the supermarket (in the sudden drizzle) to grab the 2 other blown lights tubes. I came back, grabbed the ladder and replace the 2 light tube he had blown. All this time, he didnt even know I had left the house....When I was almost done, it was as if it dawn on my husband that his wife was too quiet and he spotted me in the bathroom. He volunteered to fix the lights which I firmly turn him down. Why bother to try to get started when I am already halfway done? When I fixed the lights and came down, he pat me on my back and grinned "My handy wife". I almost wanted to give him the death glare at his "audacity" and cheeky grin. Oh MAN!
Today, I wanted to snap a picture of the original blown light source and to my UTTER horror, I realised my dearest husband has CRACKED the whole glass cover of the bathroom light the other day. WTF! Now he added another new problem of having me to get someone to come fix it. And after all the trouble, he didnt even do anything to solve the original problem! What the hell! Short of tearing my hair out in frustrations, I covered my face in total resignation....
Whoever says it's handy to have a man at home? It's a freaking myth!
I would start cooking and cleaning in the same way he's fixing stuff. It's fine if he doesn't want to fix, but he should start cooking, cleaning and stay at home with the kids, to compensate
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