To Nag or Not to Nag...

After bickering with The Husband all of Monday night over insignificant things, I got to thinking: What would happen if I were totally, completely, perfectly nice? Is nagging my husband and getting frustrated when he doesn't do what I want serving a purpose, or is it just creating unnecessary stress?

So, while half-asleep on Monday night, I decided to try an experiment: one week of no nagging or complaining. Of course I didn't tell The Husband about the experiment, because that would taint the results. If I ask him to do something and it doesn't get done, I either 1) leave it alone and don't comment or 2) if it really needs to be done, do it myself and don't comment. If I ask him to do something and he says no, I don't argue or act upset.

Three days in, I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. It turns out that my husband doesn't actually need to be nagged and, if left alone, will eventually do what needs to be done without multiple reminders. For example: tonight after dinner, I had to take Baby B upstairs for a bath because he tends to wear more of his food than he eats. (and because of this, we feed him in just a diaper and bib so that he doesn't ruin his cute little outfits). We still had a bowl of ravioli on the table, and The Danedeers were on the prowl waiting for a chance to help themselves. I asked The Husband to clear the table so that the Danedeers didn't get the food. He responded, "Just put everything in the center so they can't get it."

On a normal night, I might have responded, "Can't you just do it really quickly?" On an angry night, I would have thrown a fit about how I have to do everything around the house and how he's too lazy to stop watching the game and clear the table. Tonight, I just said, "Okay" and moved the plates to the center of the table. A few minutes later, I heard him clearing the table and, when I came back downstairs after Baby B was in bed, not only was the table cleared but Baby B's dinner mess had been cleaned up as well.

The past few days have really reminded me to lighten up and stop insisting that everything happen on my schedule. For the most part, that just causes unnecessary stress. The Husband is a responsible man who does a great job of taking care of things around the house without being asked. He does most of our cooking, has all of the laundry done and the bottles and pump parts sterilized before I get home from work every day, and is much better about tidying up than I am. We're both really busy and have limited time together and with Baby B. If we let something slip every once in a while, it's not the end of the world.