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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
just so you know I'm not perfect
...cause I know you all thought I was, right? tee hee.
Tonight T and I had a little argument. Not even an argument, really; just an incidence of Rachel Not Getting Her Way. The short version: I had (and have) a quite miserable headache, and wanted takeout for supper. T (who had a friend coming over, immediately after his own arrival home from work, to do some really manly stuff to a car they're going to sell) pointed out that I had just told him earlier today that money was tight, and that no, paying less to our credit card really shouldn't be an option, now should it, so I was going to have to go ahead and cook supper.
You should have seen how spiritually I handled this disappointment. I set an example for every Christian wife in Western civilization with my humble, submissive, Godly attitude. Here's how I did it.
I pouted.
Oh MAN did I pout. You were expecting me to say that I stood there virtuously cooking supper with a shining, sweet attitude about me, whilst mentally reciting a litany of reasons I love my husband, interspersed with really helpful Bible passages like Titus 2:3-5, weren't you? But I didn't. Nooo. I slammed doors, I clattered pans, I muttered under my breath like a surly fifteen-year-old, I manufactured a tight little I'm so ticked off at you, and you had better watch it, buddy smile for my husband every time I happened to see him. I did this for the first five minutes because it seemed good and righteous and necessary. For about the next half hour I kept it up because I felt very strongly that backing down would have been the sissy thing to do. Right at the end of this half-hour, dinner was ready, which fact I sent the kids out to announce to their father, just so he wouldn't think I'd relented and gone all warm-fuzzy-submissive-Christian-wife on him.
In other words, I was a total, total brat. I really was.
I'm better now. The dishes are done (well, the dishwasher's doing them; hallelujah for minor miracles), I've a diet cherry Coke on hand, and I carefully calculated that I could eat a peanut-butter Twix bar (bought after a quick post-dinner trip to the library to pick up a hold, with a dollar I'd found on the sidewalk, of all things -- I mean, God must have WANTED me to have a peanut-butter Twix bar, don't you think? to throw the dollar at me that way?) without losing all my "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" weight-loss momentum. And chocolate, especially chocolate combined with peanut butter and crispiness, always helps, doesn't it? Now I just have to (gulp) go outside and say something sweet to T so that he knows I'm better, and I can sit down with my book and my Coke and pretend I was never upset at all. Because I'm such a good wife that way.
Comments
Oh, Rachel. I love your honesty and your wonderful sense of humor!
While God was ensuring that you had a Twix, He was providing me with some much needed peanut M&Ms, also via some "found" change at the bottom of my Mary Poppins purse. It's a crunchy-chocolate kind of day.
Posted by: laura at October 18, 2005 07:59 PM
I would've reacted exactly the same way. I'm glad you're over it, though! And Peanut Butter Twix are SO YUMMY! I used to be addicted to those things, but haven't seen them around lately. Ahh, life's simple pleasures....
Posted by: Denise at October 18, 2005 10:50 PM
You crack me up! I've done the same thing several times (already! and I'm a newlywed) especially when I want to buy something I KNOW we NEED ok?! Hope you enjoyed your book and coke and chocolate...sounds to me like a necessity (the twix, that is!).
Posted by: Valerie at October 19, 2005 01:55 AM
Great story. I can totally see myself there. Except I would have said "if you want cooked dinner, you'd better get to work!" Ha.
Have you heard that song that goes "I just want to be mad for a while"? Yeah, that's me. And it sounds like that was you last night. Sometimes, it feels good to pout. I'm sorry, but there it is.
I hope all is well between the two of you now.
Posted by: mary at October 19, 2005 06:31 AM
I really hear you--I've acted the same way and worse. Embarrassing. I would be willing to bet that every gal can identify with what you wrote.
Posted by: Kristen at October 19, 2005 08:06 AM
Yep! Been there, done that! On more than one occasion! I feel so guilty and bad after though.
Posted by: debi at October 19, 2005 11:10 AM
You know, I would have done the same thing, but would have felt even WORSE because my husband would have tried to compramise with me by offering to cook dinner himself. (Which means either Mac and Cheese or Egg White sandwiches). So not only would I have been complaining about not being able to eat out, I would have been complaining about his cooking too...So ungrateful sometimes, aren't we?
Posted by: jenn at October 19, 2005 01:10 PM
T could not have cooked -- otherwise he probably would have, and we'd have had oatmeal, since there was no Hamburger Helper in the house -- on account of the manly work that needed to be done on the car with his friend who arrived before I even started working on supper.
I ended up making something I like a lot (diced chicken in homemade Italian red sauce, with tiny shell noodles), and now I have had a serious craving for it all day long. No leftovers, though.
Posted by: Rachel at October 19, 2005 01:17 PM
Ooh! that does sound good!!!
Posted by: debi at October 19, 2005 02:15 PM
When I was 8 months pregnant with Jonathan. Majorly sick. Very tired. And the kids were driving me nuts that day. I asked to go to Pops that night. I REALLY REALLY did not want to cook. I had told him that we did not have lots of money the day before and he said no. bieng good. So I was so cranky and bratty that I made something for supper that night that he totally did not like. just to be nasty. =( I felt so bad about that.
Posted by: debi at October 19, 2005 03:01 PM
Man, what's up with all you wives?? I've NEVER reacted that way!
Posted by: Susan at October 19, 2005 05:45 PM
;-)
Posted by: Susan at October 19, 2005 05:45 PM
LOL oatmeal. Your dinner sounds so much more appetizing!
Posted by: jenn at October 19, 2005 08:18 PM
