Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sometimes I just need to shut the heck up

When we bought our car in November, we were supposed to get 3 free month of XM radio. After the three months, of course, then you have to pay for it, so I really didn't listen to it much because I have no desire to get hooked. But XM does have some kids programming, which I thought would be wonderful for our epic car ride to North Carolina. But a couple weeks before we left, I realized that the XM wasn't working. I mentioned it to R and asked if he'd call about it since he's primary on the account what with me not having a paying job and all. Bummer.

I asked him again a few days before we left and could tell from his reaction that he really didn't want to do it. I didn't want to do it either, and I have an annoying habit of backseat talking in situations like that. Knowing R, it's got to drive him nuts. Put the shoe on the other foot, and my comment would basically be that if he didn't like how I was handling things, then he needs to call and figure it out. Actually, why he hasn't already said that is a bit of a mystery. But he hasn't.

This morning, I was finishing up thank you notes for the Christmas gifts we got, and R walks by and asks what I'm doing. I tell him, and he's like, "You are just now sending out thank you notes for Christmas gifts?" Well, yes. Since I'm the only one that sends out thank you notes, yes. Yes, I'm just now sending out thank you notes to people. How many thank you notes are you sending out? Oh, none? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Of course I didn't say that exactly, but I did get my point across. Rowr. Hiss. 

Later this morning, we were doing a couple errands and I pushed the XM radio button. I check it every now and then in hopes that the situation will automatically resolve itself. Which, of course, it won't. R makes a comment about the XM not working and I say rather snappishly, "Yeah. I asked you to call weeks ago..."

Tonight I went to a movie with Tascha. Last night R and his brother went to a movie and ended up ordering their tickets through Fandango. Seemed like a great idea to me, so I asked him to order them for me tonight as I went up to take a shower. When I came downstairs, he had ordered the tickets and also thought to grab our gate pass since Tascha was driving and I'd probably need it to get back in our development. Thoughtful right? 

Then we get to movie theater and I go to the Fandango kiosk and get the tickets. We are standing in line to get popcorn when I realize - there's only one ticket. Weird. Was there a mistake? We head back out to stand in the ticket line, and I call R to ask if he ordered one ticket or two. He ordered one. I'm not angry, just puzzled, but I know that R thinks I'm angry. But why on earth would I ask him to order a movie ticket for me and not for Tascha? Duh!

After the movie, Tascha and I run by Walmart to get glue sticks for our kids to take to school on Monday. When I got home, R had gone to bed, which was unusual for him not to wait up. I put my bags down, hang up my coat, take my cell out of my jeans pocket, and notice the red "you've missed something" light is flashing. I check my phone and see that R must have called me right back when we were at the movie theatre, but I didn't hear the phone ring.

And then it all hits me: how bitchy I've been today over what really amounts to nothing and how embarrassed I am now that I think about the day that R must have had feeling like I was constantly jumping all over him. And for what? Stuff I could basically have taken care of myself? So was I really irritated at him or am I irritated at myself and just taking it out on R? I'm guessing that it's the latter.

Therefore, in the morning, I am going to apologize profusely to R for not handling things better today. While I feel like my feelings were pretty justified, I handled everything poorly. And he deserves better than that. Maybe I should write him a thank you note really quickly. Lord knows he deserves one for putting up with me today.

2 comments:

JLK said...

Been there. I think it's because when you ask your husband to do something small and simple, like call XM or take the trash out, if they don't say no then we assume they'll do it. And when they don't it's like WTF - a) If I knew you weren't going to do it I'd have just done it myself forever ago, b) I'm busy writing all the thank-you notes that you're not helping with so why in the hell can't you do this one thing for me, and c) if you don't want to do something, just tell me you don't want to do it.

But it can never be that simple.

Brooke said...

No, it's never that simple. I'm convinced that specific behavioral encoding exists on the genetic level and men and women are doomed to have these issues until the end of time - or until the world ends in 2012. HA!