How my mommy temper tantrum maybe saved my husband’s life.
Marriage. It’s so much fun. All. The. Time. Right? Not in my house.
We have our ups and downs, and we work through most of them like adults (sorry, you won’t find many stories about those because they aren’t nearly as funny). But every so often, I give into my inner child and let her run WILD.
This happened about 10 days ago, and it was of course about a car.
Women…well, most women and especially the moms I know…don’t have time to pamper ourselves, let alone our vehicles. It is a mechanism to get us from point A to point B safely and comfortably if we’re lucky. There’s trash on the floor of my passenger’s seat, snack remnants (or most of the goldfish bag) in the back and on more than one occasion, I’ve had to tell my kid to just “kick it out of the way” in reference to a sports water bottle, extra coat, or other item blocking their path out of the vehicle during school drop-off.
Men…well, most men I know…tend to be mesmerized with what they can store in all those little nooks and crannies, like to keep their exterior clean and vacuum their interiors regularly. Every gas station provides an opportunity to wash their vehicle’s windows – whether or not they’re already clean, empty their trash and make sure their vehicle is in pristine condition.
At least – that’s how it is in my house and a lot of my friends’ houses.
So, I was of course completely annoyed when my husband started questioning how well I’d been taking care of our new-to-us Yukon (a.k.a. MY VEHICLE).
He was worried about miles.
He was worried about trash.
He was worried about driving on dirt roads.
He thought maybe I should take his truck more often to conserve miles on the Yukon.
I thought he should: 1) NOT care and 2) Definitely NOT tell me what I can or can’t do with my own vehicle.
He was just trying to have a nice, honest conversation with me about expectations and vehicle care. But he tried to have that conversation three times over the course of a week-long Spring Break, where I’d already transitioned to “Angry Mommy” by Day 4.
And so rather than have an adult conversation…I had a mommy temper tantrum.
I demanded that we eliminate this conversation from our marriage, and told him that if he wanted theYukon super, super clean – it could be HIS car and that his truck was mine…M-I-N-E, MINE. I let him know that I needed a vehicle I could drive NO QUESTIONS ASKED, and if that wasn’t the Yukon, it was gonna be HIS truck.
Truth is…I agree with him about the miles. And yes, I’m totally embarrassed on the off day that I offer to give a friend a ride and am cleaning out school papers, empty snack bags and sports water bottles from the floor of my front passenger seat.
But I wasn’t gonna give him that.
I gave him attitude. A stuck-out chin and a fierce look on my face that told him I wasn’t joking. Then, I gave him my Yukon key fob, yanking it off my key chain and replacing it with his truck’s key.
It was done.
Some of you may have seen my Instagram post (if you haven’t, be sure to follow me @LifesETC) stating that no one does stubborn like me…and I meant it.
I drove that beast of a truck around for 10 days (today is day 11). My husband drove the Yukon to California and back (so much for saving miles).
Maybe because 10 has always been a lucky number in our relationship, or because his truck is a $!%@# to park, when my husband tried to have an adult conversation with me today – I was open to it.
He agreed not to ask about which vehicle would be best suited for places I drove, and I agreed to clean out the Yukon every Friday.
Compromise…it feels so good!
We agreed to trade back vehicles – and then something incredible happened.
As my husband was switching back our personal items between vehicles, he noticed that his truck’s right front shock was not where it should have been. The bolt that was holding it in place had apparently sheared off somewhere along the way, and the shock popped up into the suspension springs.
I went back to my Instagram pic, and after playing with filters, could see the shock was already that way the day we originally traded vehicles.
Driving slowly around town (like I did) wasn’t apparently that big of a deal, but driving to California and back could have been devastating. Talk about the most random divine intervention!!!
So, next time your wife completely loses her $#!@, just say “Thank You.” It really is true that the Lord works in mysterious ways, and she might just be doing her part to SAVE YOUR LIFE! 😉
Much Love! H
(originally published on LifesETC.com 3/27/17)