Men are so SELFISH!

Today is the day before Thanksgiving. I took the day off to prepare for hosting Thanksgiving Dinner, as we have done for 5 of the 6 years we have lived here. I had lots of things to do today, one of them being to get all of the food dishes that I need to make ready ahead of time. I also planned on rearranging the dining room, setting the table, getting the dishes and serving pieces out and ready, thawing a turkey and ham, doing laundry, getting the washing machine fixed by a sears repairman, and hopefully showering. I also had a doctor's appointment to make. This was my agenda.

About a month ago, I started to discuss with husband the importance of burning our wildflower/grass plot in the ditch. I have been increasingly hinting that it is time to burn it, thinking that while I am at work all day, and he has some time, he could be raking leaves and burning. Nothing happened. Last week I said "I think that when I am off work on Wednesday, you should burn the ditch" which turned out in his head as "WE" will burn the ditch. Okay, whatever. I will work it in. So when I woke up at 10am, and he said he wasn't going to get up until noon... Okay. So I start my day by unloading the dishwasher and putting away dishes, organizing and preparing the kitchen, finding ingredients, and then putting some dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Then I get dressed. Then I let the dogs outside. And I drag a cooler in the house and fill it with water and start to dethaw the turkey. And I fold the blankets that he left all screwed up in the spare bedroom, and picked up his dirty clothes from the floor. At 12:30 he still wasn't up. I woke him up. At 1pm, as I was outside BY MYSELF raking leaves... I knock on the bedroom window with the rake and tell him to please get up.

At 1:30 I have raked half of the yard. Yes. 50% of the leaves. Into the ditch. BY MYSELF. Then the Sears repairman comes. I spend about 30-45 minutes with him and he repairs the wash machine and shows and explains everything to me. Then FOR FREE he looks at the dishwasher, shows me what part I need, explains how to order it and shows me where to install the new part. This guy was awesome. Sears wants to charge you TWO $65 service fees to look at two different appliances. Huh. Nice guy! Then It's like 2:15 and I haven't eaten and I am starving. Not to mention that I have terrible cramps and had a prescription Naproxen floating around in my empty tummy.

I go outside to tell Evan about the sears guy and he GROWLS "if you want to do something productive, you can go put my check in the bank." (now the poor baby is raking 50% of the leaves all by his lonesome. awwww.) So HE is pissed at ME because he has to do this alone while the Sears guy is there. So I drop everything and go to the bank. Then I make lunch. Halfway through stir-fry, Iwalk outside to see if he wants to come in and eat soon but he has already lit the ditch. He yells at me because I am not helping him. I call him a dick and go inside to finish our lunch. I eat lunch. He's standing out there watching the ditch burn, randomly spraying the green grass with the garden hose to "contain" the fire. *cough*

I am not sure if he just needs me to stand there next to him or what his deal is. So I stand there and watch. He doesn't speak to me. I ask him if he is going to burn the other side of the ditch. He growls "no. we don't have enough help." and that is clearly meant to be a dig on me not groveling at his feet anf being at his beck and call as he burns. So I go inside and put his food in the oven to keep it warm. Then I check the turkey. Then I clean up the lunch dishes. I wash three loads of laundry. I fold sheets and blankets, quilts and comforters. I strip the bed and put on new sheets and blankets. I carry down a hamper of laundry. I rearrange the dining room by myself, moving the dining table. I carry up the buffet table from the basement (alone) and set it up. I put chairs around it. I move all the dishes, silverware, and serving dishes into the dining room. I take his un-eaten lunch out of the oven at 5pm and put it in containers in the fridge. I get out napkins and napkin rings. I get the cream cheese and butter out of the fridge to soften. And then, I sit down for a second.

He comes out of the shower and looks at me (sitting. can you believe she has the nerve to SIT while I burn the ditch??) and says he is going to Princeton. Do I need anything? No. Then he proceeds to ask me if I have seen his wallet. Have I seen his shoes? Then "what are we doing tonight?" and when I say "I still have to make all the food for tomorrow. That is the REASON that I took the day off work today." and he looks at me and says "I thought that's why you were in here instead of helping me. And besides, when you raked the leaves, you Did it all wrong. And if you would have helped me, I could have got the raking done in half the time." and all I said to him? "forgive me for 'doing it wrong.' I thought that by raking 50% of the leaves in the yard I was being helpful. If you had gotten up at 11 or 12 instead of 2pm, it also would have gotten done faster. Next year you can do it by yourself." And he got cranky, stood up, proceeded to slam every door, drawer, etc. and stomp out of the house.

Wow it's a good thing he's around to tell me how to be productive, isn't it? Otherwise I might enjoy myself on my day off, and wouldn't that be a shame? SO now that he is gone and taken his crankiness with him, and I have vented it off on my blog, I am going to go prepare pumpkin cheesecake bars and stuffed olive cheese secrets and continue with laundry and feed the dogs.