Wife Nag

All you nagging wives have been nagging me about writing this nagging wife post, so here it is! 

Honestly, before I got married I vowed to myself to never be a nagging wife. I’d heard about it, read about, and even witnessed it. Nope. That wasn’t going to be me, but low and behold, I became a wife, and nagging commenced shortly after the walk down the aisle.  

I’m going to start by saying that Ben and I aren’t the same person. We don’t do things the same, and sometimes we don’t see eye to eye. When we added kids to the equation, things got even more hectic. And demanding. And complicated. And I began to nag even more. To me, nagging is simply repeating requests and giving gentle reminders. Why do we nag our husbands/significant others? I could think of a few reasons…

1. We need them to follow through with things.*
2. We need them to change the battery on the damn smoke detector that has been beeping for two weeks. 
3. We don’t know if they’re listening.
4. We need them to realize that they can multitask. Watch the game and fold this laundry!
5. We need them to understand the importance of dumping and rinsing excess food off of their plate before putting it in the sink. 
6. We need them to put their clothes in, not near, the laundry basket.  
7. We need them to follow through with things.*
8. We need them to open their eyes and realize that the house won’t clean itself. 
9. We need them to take initiative and complete tasks without us having to tell them what needs to be done. 
10. We need them to follow through with things.*
11. We need them to not have to be reminded that it is trash day. 
12. We need them to realize that after doing 22 things for the day; we ain’t trying to get tapped on the shoulder. 
13. We need them to realize that if they helped a little more, we wouldn’t mind being tapped on the shoulder. Hell, we may even be the ones doing the tapping. 
14. We need them to understand that there is constantly shit to be done. 
15. We need them to realize that we ain’t their mama. 
16. We need them to understand the importance of giving us time to be away- from them and the kids.
17. We need them to practice being domestic in order to perfect the craft. 
18. We need them to follow through with things.* 
19. We need them to understand the importance of making us feel appreciated. 
20. We need them to know that we don’t like repeating requests, so just do it the first time we ask. Hell, we’d even settle and be happy if it’s done after the third ask.   *The basis of our nagging. Just do what you say you’re going to do! 

I must admit that there was a time where I was tired of hearing myself “nag,” so I know Ben was, too. I’ve learned to pick my battles with what I nag about. I either take care of things myself (without complaint) or pay someone (with his money) to do them. Ben doesn’t like either of those options, so he has gotten much better at helping around the house and being cognizant of ways he can lend a hand. I’ve read many articles about how destructive nagging can be on a relationship. My best advice is to always communicate your needs and find a balance, ‘cause although him not doing things exactly how you want them and when you want them is annoying af, it’s not worth your marriage/relationship- especially if he’s a good man. #nagwithbalance