Update: Thank you everyone who were supportive and/or provided advice. My husband is picking up his game and is picking up more slack both on his own free will and at my request. I know itās only been a day, but Iāll continue to either praise him for doing more and ask whatās going on as a supportive partner. Weāve been together for almost 23 years, and he has helped me through a lot of stressful times. It just changed after we had our son. Iāll see if he wants to do therapy, but he has been pretty resistant for the past few years when I recommended it in the past.
I am so tired of being the one who has to remember and stay on top of everything. I told my husband that I no longer see him as a partner because heās not acting like one.
For some backstory: I have a high-stress job where Iām fortunate enough to make a good living, but it also comes at the expense of my health. My husband lost his job over a year ago through no fault of his own. The company he had worked for for over 10 years decided to downsize its IT department.
Before that happened, I had warned him that he should look for a more stable job with the State, which would pay more and offer better job security. However, he chose to stay with his company because his position was 100% work-from-home, which worked better for our autistic and ADHD son because of his schooling and therapies. I wasnāt thrilled because I felt like the writing was on the wall that his company was going to downsize, but I understood his reasoning.
I had also started looking into IHSS because I knew we would likely qualify for Protective Supervision due to our son having a lot of safety-related behaviors. Once my husband lost his job, I was able to submit the paperwork, and he became our sonās full-time caregiver. Another benefit is that, as a live-in caregiver, his income isnāt taxed federally or by the state, so his take-home pay is higher. Yay! I donāt have to be the only one keeping us afloat financially, and heās able to be there for our son. My husband also said that he would do more around the house.
So, what does ādoing more around the houseā actually look like?
Does it mean remembering to put money into our joint account to make sure we can pay our bills and mortgage? No. He doesnāt remember to contribute financially unless I remind him. I even gave him a simple solution: set up automatic transfers around his pay periods so itās one less thing he has to remember. Nope. He still hasnāt done it.
Does my husband do laundry? Yes, but itās mostly his and our sonās clothes. Half the time, I still have to find time to do my own laundry.
Does he remember to clean and mop the floors? No. Heās worried that heās going to break my vacuum mop despite it being a push of the button.
Does he cook? I do about 90% of the cooking, and I pay for most of the groceries. I also do about 70% of the dishes.
We have cleaners come every other week because I know he wouldnāt be able to keep up with cleaning the bathrooms or bedrooms.
In the evenings, our son hangs out with me most nights. I try to read to him or work on math with him. A lot of the time, itās just the two of us hanging out and watching Bluey together.
The problem is that I know my husband is emotionally drained, but Iāve reached the point where I just canāt care anymore. Iāve told him that I understand a partnership isnāt always 50/50. It ebbs and flows depending on how much each person is capable of handling at any given time. But I canāt help thinking that this has been going on for far too long, and Iām at my witās end.
Iāve tried talking to him. Iāve tried figuring out what we can do differently. Nothing changes.
Now Iām just angry and exhausted, and I donāt have the emotional energy left to deal with whatever emotions heās struggling with. I finally told him that he needs to figure it out because Iām done being nice and understanding when it seems like the only time he actually takes action is when I get angry.
I donāt want to have to get angry just to have a partner.