Photo by Rachel Crews
Wayne’s used to managing people at work. Sometimes he forgets to leave that side of himself behind when he comes home, though. As I wrote about in When My Husband’s Stressed, I’m in charge of things around the house. (Okay, maybe not everything, but quite a few.)
That’s why I take great offense when he tries to manage me. Take our impending move for instance.
He’s very methodical. He wants a list and an update every morning of what’s on my agenda and where we stand with getting things done to get the house on the market. It’s not bad to question what’s being handled, but he has a tendency to address it as formally as if he’s the lead project manager and I’m an employee…one who’s not particularly adept. That’s when I get torqued off.
Like yesterday. I know what needs to get done, the time frame I need to get X, Y, and Z done by, and if I’ll need outside help. As I mentioned in Flaws: Sometimes It’s the Imperfections that are the Most Endearing, Wayne’s an interrogator. When he starts questioning when I’ll get to X, Y, and Z or, as he calls it, “reminds” me of the X, Y, and Zs to do, it’s very hard to remember I find this flaw loveable.
However, he does keep me honest. Where he’s an interrogator, I’m a procrastinator. I’ll push the deadline to the very last minute if I can, and that has created problems in the past. He doesn’t like to scramble, whereas I work better under pressure. So sometimes his prodding helps push me, because then I want to just hurry up and get it done so I don’t have to hear it.
And it’s good he has no trouble managing people because I do. When I’m not up to the challenge of staying on top of someone we’ve hired to do work, I recruit him. He has no qualms about questioning why they did something one way or why they would charge a certain price.
It’s like anything…he has managerial talents and, like his flaws, I appreciate them. I just don’t like when he tries to use them on me!
Courtney Mroch is a regular contributor to the Pets Blog. Read more of her blogs here.
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