Archive through October 01, 2002
TV ClubHouse: Archive: Wife on Strike:
Archive through October 01, 2002
Halfunit | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 07:57 pm     From Indiana The Star Press ALBANY - The signs went up after Kathy Thompson's dander did. "Wife on strike!!!" reads the first one, which is set alongside the driveway of her rural home. In case somebody thinks she's kidding, a second sign just beyond the first one reads, "Wife still on strike." They have been posted for the benefit of Thompson's husband, Gary. "He left and went fishing last week," explained the slightly-built woman with flowing blonde hair. "I had a rough week. I thought, I need a break. So I went on strike." That means no laundry. No cooking. No making the bed. And she'll wash only a dish or two to keep the kitchen from looking tacky. "He did the dishes last night," she said with a laugh. "So tell the girls it does work." |
Wargod | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 08:09 pm     Hmmmmm.....hubby just came back from vacation....nah, clutter I can handle, mess I can't! Good for her! LOL |
Whoami | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 09:33 pm     Someone needs to send her the Sock Experiment thread! |
Riviere | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 09:37 pm     Sounds like a sad marital relationship there, if she didn't know she was already in charge.. |
Sia | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 09:57 pm     Oh, I don't know, Riviere; sounds like my marriage: once in a while I have to shake things up around here. When I am super-tired, it takes my getting really physically sick to get some help at my house. Once my husband bathes the kids & washes their hair, gets them dressed & brushes their teeth, he's in complete agreement that I do have a tough job. In six years, I have probably left my DH completely in charge of both children a half-dozen times. Two kids just overwhelm him; he can't handle it. I've threatened to strike, myself, and would do it if I had a magic fairy with a wand to finish my work while I'm resting!  |
Riviere | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 10:34 pm     Come talk to me when you've been married 4 times in 25 years, Sia, and have grandchildren. I think your sense of humor will grow by then and you'll have an open mind.. Good luck! |
Goddessatlaw | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 10:42 pm     Now, see - this is a chick with a bad attitude and a good idea. I want to be like her when I grow up. |
Sia | Monday, September 30, 2002 - 10:55 pm     Riviere, you might have something there: my DH always accuses me of taking things he says too seriously! Thanks. I need all the GOOD luck I can get. ("If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. . .gloom, despair, and agony on me....")  |
Squaredsc | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 06:38 am     hmm, he goes fishing alot, she hasn't had 1 vacation, 4yrs of marriage. is he bringing any fish home? does he clean it at least? i would have had that sign straight up his a**. |
Goddessatlaw | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 06:42 am     Please! I'd have it so far up his *ss it'd scrape his back teeth. Then I'd tell him it'd be right interesting to see how fast he could pack in his condition. |
Rissa | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 06:59 am     RFLOL!! See, this is why I didn't participate in the Great and Noble Sock Experiement. Kewl idea, would last about 5 minutes. If I leave the dishes, the troops can get very inventive. Run out of bowls? No sweat, use tupperware. Run out of clean clothes? Well, I am the only one who would cringe at wearing the dirty ones. LOL So I am on strike for a week and when I finally give up (cause you just know who would cave first. LOL), I have a tonne of catch-up cleaning to go with the tonne of resentment. LOL I agree with Wargod, clutter I can live with, a mess I can't. The only way my going on strike would work is if I physically LEFT the house. LOL And as for that sock? Let me tell you what would happen in my house. My hubby would notice it ASAP and everytime he walked by it he would say (out loud but to no-one in particular) "Whose sock is this? Why hasn't it been picked up?" Then he'd walk by it. He would repeat this ritual for days, maybe weeks then he would finally pick it up and at every dinner party or BBQ for years afterwards he would regale our friends with stories about my being such a bad housekeeper that I leave socks in the hallway for weeks on end and unless HE picks it up, it wouldn't get done at all. He does vacuum and clean toilets though, so i can't complain. LOL |
Weinermr | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 08:12 am                      
This is sure turning out to be a pleasant discussion.
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Goddessatlaw | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 11:03 am     Now how you gonna gripe about tone, when the whole discussion is about voting Weiners off the island? Is there a nice way to say "I want your Wiener off my island, and by the way it doesn't plump when you cook it, either?" Can it be said differently while still transmitting the essence of the diss? I'm saying our sh*t is correct, here, and maybe you're sensibilities are a bit hyperdelicate because you've been identified as an potententially endangered Wienie. Hmmmmm? Feeling a bit threatened, are we Wienieman? |
Weinermr | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 11:11 am     Threatened? Me? *Gulp* |
Wargod | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 11:17 am     <wargod grabs a stick..looks at weiner> *poke* *poke* *poke* <runs out of the room laughing!> |
Babyruth | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 11:19 am     Woo-Boy!!! Babyruth pulls up a ringside seat and starts to sell tickets and take bets. Her money is on Mr. Weiner, especially if trivia, puns or limericks are involved... |
Goddessatlaw | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 11:24 am     All in favor of a Weinie roast say aye. |
Karuuna | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 11:43 am     I'm kind of thinking you teach people how to treat you (Thanks, Dr. Phil). If things aren't fairly divided, well, whose fault is that really? Should it take a strike to make your point? Or maybe the point is that she let it get that bad in the first place? Any two people are gonna have different sensibilities about how things get done and what needs to be done. There's nothing wrong in that itself. Two folks who respect each other, as well as each other's differing viewpoints, ought to be able to sit down, talk it out, and negotiate something that works for both of them. Yeah, it's fun to poke fun sometimes. But maybe the fun-poking at others is cause we don't want to look too carefully at our own complicity in creating the situation we're in? Just sayin'.... Now don't you go messing with my Weiner friend; 'cause he's got a good point. And besides, I got a few signs myself, and I'm not afraid to use 'em.... |
Bob2112 | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 11:45 am     Nay |
Gail | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 12:09 pm     You're right Karuuna. In the case of the woman above, it doesn't say if she asked her husband to not go fishing. The article doesn't give his side of the story either. Did she ever ask him to do dishes? Did she ask him to do stuff around the house? Who mows their lawn and takes care of the cars? Does she do that do or maybe he was doing that it didn't get credit for it. Maybe she just did the old suffer in silence thing and he figured everything was okay. If she is doing all this work and going to school, and he is working, maybe they are pulling in enough money to hire a housekeeper so they can enjoy time together on weekends. Nobody can treat you bad unless you let them. BTW - this particular scenario was a made for tv movie on the family channel about 3 months ago. I guess I find it odd that she could tell the entire free world about this by posting a sign out in front of the house but not tell him directly. Yeah, it's cute and I guess some think it is funny but no need to humiliate the person you are supposed to love the most. I know so many guys that I work with and am friends with that do so much around the house. It is all a matter of communication and working together in a relationship. This woman's problem is not that her husband doesn't do the dishes, her problem is she doesn't know how to talk to him. Or maybe he doesn't know how to listen? Maybe they should go on a vacation to a marriage building seminar - together. Someplace where they can do plenty of fishing |
Marysafan | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 12:26 pm     My thought exactly Gail. |
Goddessatlaw | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 12:34 pm     I don't like the idea of having to ask another adult living in the same space to pitch in with the chores. Why should this have to be requested and put the wife in the position of being called a nag? I don't know about the fishing trip issue, because frankly my favorite guys in the world are ones who go away ALOT!! However, if the wife is a housewife and the husband works all day, sure the division of household responsibilities should be in favor of her performing more. My suggestion: stay single. If there's a mess, it's your own and no one to blame but yourself. Anyway, it's a funny story. I'm not sure it's worth humiliating her husband on national tv over, but funny nonetheless. |
Karuuna | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 12:56 pm     Thanks Gail. Oh heck, someone agrees with me? I may have to adjust my self-image! Goddess, you wrote: <I don't like the idea of having to ask another adult living in the same space to pitch in with the chores. > I guess the way I look at it is that whether you are roommates, married, or, um, whatever, different people have different ideas about what needs to be done, how frequently, how quickly, and how thoroughly. One person might think vaccuuming once a week is enough. Another might think it needs to be done every day. One person might think that every time you vaccuum, you should move all the furniture. Another might think that's only necessary when the dust bunnies start billowing out from underneath when someone walks by. One person might like to vaccuum, and the other might hate it. So, I don't think it's being a nag to say: "This is how often I think vaccuuming should be done, this is how thoroughly, and I hate to vaccuum, so I'd like you to do it this much of the time. What do you think about vacuuming?" To me, that's just acknowledging the differing sensibilities and sensitivities of different people. No nagging, no fighting, no blaming, no ridiculing, and er, no poking. I think both women and men can get caught up in the "if you love me, you'd do xyz" syndrome; without ever really understanding that maybe that other person can't read their mind. I'm all for open-minded, nonjudgmental sharing to get clarity. Whatever the heck that means.  |
Landi | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 01:16 pm     nooooooowwwwwww wait one second... that's my adopter you're poking at!! and although my husband would never see the sock either... i do have to stand up for our NON-husband friends... we can't lump ALL men into the wagon now... can we? i mean it was my stupid fault thinking i might possibly CHANGE my husband. you have to do what i've done... get a housekeeper that comes twice a week for a couple of hours at a time, mine folds laundry does bathrooms and dishes and my husband vacuums. i have fibromyalgia, and just working and being a mom is more than i can handle. it's not all their fault ya know. so don't pick on my weinermrdad!! |
Gail | Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 01:26 pm     I guess my take on this is that in a lot of homes, the husband does a lot of outdoor type chores - mowing, maintaining the cars, fixing stuff around the house, etc. When I was married or living with someone, I had no problem cooking - I like cooking and I cook pretty good so it was cool. However, I did not like coming home, spending an hour or so cooking, setting the table, clearing the table, and then doing dishes. So, the deal was, I cooked, the other person washed the dishes. Did this mean that I didn't clean up while I was cooking? Nope - I rinsed stuff off to make it easier. It's all a matter of working things out. It's all a matter of not taking things for granted. In the case of this woman in the article, maybe her husband took her for granted but my question is, what did she do to stop it before it got to that point? At anytime, on those nights that she had school, did she say "Honey, I have class tonight, how about you helping me out by taking care of dinner and getting the kids to bed, etc?" >>However, if the wife is a housewife and the husband works all day, sure the division of household responsibilities should be in favor of her performing more. >> No way! It should be a split that also incorporates all chores - kids, outside chores, etc. Again, it is all a matter of working together. Me, I live the single life - but I hate spending my time on the weekends cleaning so I have a nice lady who comes in each week to clean. It is my gift to myself. Otherwise, I would have those dust bunnies billowing out from under the furniture like Karuuna mentioned.  |
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