My husband and I have an ongoing battle over personal space. Well, truthfully, it is over me invading his personal space. I have completely taken over our entire home when it comes to decorating and organizing. Poor guy really doesn’t have a say in what his own home looks like, or where anything goes in it. That being said, he does have two areas which he has asked to be off limits. His closet and his office.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love a challenge and hate to be told “no”. So, of course when my husband asks that I stay out of his office and don’t try to rearrange anything, I reorganize everything the first time he goes away. I’m obnoxious and evil I know, I just can’t seem to help myself. I have however begun to realize (after him screaming it at me the last dozen or so times I’ve reorganized his desk) that it is not about his actual stuff, it is all about respect. With that in mind, even though I cringe when I walk past his office, I summon all my might and just close the door.
Now, his closet is a whole different story. I am the one who does his laundry and puts away all his clothes, but for some insane reason he doesn’t want me to organize it. I try to understand his logic. “You want me to put your clothes away in a jumbled mess instead of just putting them away in a neat and organzied manner?” His answer is always “yes”. It’s his closet, he says, please don’t touch it. “But I touch it everyday to put away your clothes!” I beg. “Can I at least replace your wire hangers? No one should have wire hangers, they are horrible and ugly and wreck your clothes”. Of course the answer is always “NO!” Strange. I think this one is just him taking a tiny stand in the war against my insane over organizing. Like a dog marking it’s territory. Joe is peeing in his closet just to let me know it’s his. I am doing my best to respect it. I put away his clothes in no particular order everyday on ugly ass wire hangers.
Yesterday, after a few days of crying over a lack of a broom closet, we go to Walmart to find a broom organizing hook thing for the wall. Of course, Walmart always distracts me with its low, low prices and we leave having spent the ususal $100 and have completely forgotten about the broom organizing thingy. On the way home I cry out “I forgot the damn broom thingy” and he replies “are you going to die without one?” to which I reply “yes”. He immediately turns around and goes to Canadian Tire. I stay in the van with the girls as he runs out in the pouring rain to look all over the store for exactly what I claim I need, unable to find anything. When he comes back to the van, he hands me a big box. No, it’s not a broom organizer; It’s super nice, super expensive, space saving wood hangers. Now, most girls would not be impressed if their husband bought them hangers, but this wasn’t about hangers. This was my sweet, wonderful husband saying “I know you love it, and even though I really don’t want you to, go ahead honey and knock yourself out on my closet” without him actually saying a word.
After we return home and get the kids ready for bed my husband then leaves without saying a word. It’s late, he could be relaxing with a beer and watching hockey playoffs, but instead my Joey spends his night finding the perfect broom organizer from Home Depot. Its white with five brushed knickel hooks that match our bedroom perfectly. He then of course hangs it for me as soon as he gets home and even puts all my brooms and swiffers up. Now everytime I see it I get a huge goofy smile on my face, not just because it looks so pretty and organized, but because it’s a sweet and wonderful gesture of his love.
I have doubt that my husband thinks I am crazy, obnoxious and extremely overbearing. I also have no doubt that he loves me and I am super lucky to have such an amazing guy.