When Marisol sat at the kitchen table that evening, the silent hum of their house felt almost too calm, as if the universe was holding his breath.
Ethan, her husband, had some way to surprise her – usually with gadgets or ideas that lasted just as long as his last hobby. But this time, when she looked at a piece of paper that slipped to her, she sensed that she was something else.
Something worrying. It was not a list of food, nor was it a comment on their weekend plans. No, this time it was something much more serious, and it captured her out of sight in a way that she did not expect.
The neat type on paper caused her stomach to tighten when she began to read: “Marisol’s weekly routine for the state with a better wife.” Her heart raced and wondered for a moment if she read it badly. But no. Indeed, Ethan believed that this printed schedule was the key to their happiness. He knew a bit that he was going to call an interview, nor would he forget any of them.
I have always seen myself as stable, patient in our marriage – Calm and understanding, the one who tended to give others an advantage of doubt. Ethan, on the other hand, was easily swept in new ideas, often with infectious excitement that bordered with innocent.
His newly discovered interests were mostly harmless: a high-end blender, which he thought would turn us into a medical fanatics or an online guitar class that would reveal his inner rock star.
Recently, however, Ethan began spending time with his collaborator Glen, who liked to think of a “relationship expert”, although he has never preserved a lasting relationship. Glen had a lot of strong opinions about how wives should behave, and Ethan apparently absorbed them all.
Initially, Ethan made fine comments that caught me. “Glen thinks that household administration is primarily a wife’s work,” he said carelessly, or “Glen believes that women should always keep their attraction under control.” I turned my eyes or responded sarcastically, hoping Ethan would see the absurdity of it all. But every time, he seemed to be more convinced, even giving me a disapproving look when I decided to cook, or let the laundry accumulate until the weekend.
One night, Ethan sat me and carefully distributed a printed sheet, as if it were a legal document. “I thought about our marriage,” he began, his voice based on what he considered a gentle authority. “Marisol, you are a wonderful wife, but I think there are some areas we can work on.” I almost felt like a machine that needed tuning. I saw excitement in his eyes. “Improvement based on who’s perspective?” I thought.
I looked down at the paper. At the top of the bold, the main letters, it is: “Marisol’s weekly routine for the state with a better wife.”
The schedule outlined my whole week – at 5 am for him a gourmet breakfast for him, followed by the time of the gym to “keep my character”, then cleaned, organized and ironed clothes. After working on my full -time work, I expected to go home, prepare a sophisticated dinner, serve when his friends visited, and ensured that the house was unavailable before finally went to bed.
I was amazed by merely the courage of it all. Although it was one thing for Ethan to indicate that I was more domestic, and gave me a detailed plan as something directly from the 1950s in the manual. Ethan, shining with hope, clearly expected to thank him for his thoughtful approach. I decided to hide my frustration and answer calmly and said, “You know, Ethane, maybe you could be on something. Maybe this frame could help me.” His relief was palpable because he believed that I was on board, he did not realize that I did not intend to observe his schedule.
The next morning, when Ethan slept, I made a cup of tea and sat down to evaluate his “plan”. If he expected to become a “perfect wife”, it was time to show him how expensive this perfection could be. I pulled my laptop and started working through each of his designs: personal trainers for gym, organic food, gourmet ingredients for decorative meals and cooking courses.
I quickly realized that I would have to increase our food budget to $ 700 per month to meet its requirements. If he wanted me to stop working and devote myself to this role, he would have to pay me the salary equivalent to what I did in my work – $ 75,000 a year. After all, if I was to become his servant, chef and an event planner, it looked just fair that I had compensated in my time.
And then there was a question of space. If he wanted to entertain guests, we would need a dedicated area that would probably cost at least $ 50,000 to create a “man cave” to avoid his friends outside the way. After the calculation of all this, I had a new document ready for the introduction to Ethan called “Ethan’s plan to support the perfect wife”.
That evening, when Ethan accidentally entered the kitchen, buzzed, noticed a new documentary. “What is that?” He asked and picked it up with the released air. I stood around, crossed my arms and watched with a sense of expectations.
Initially, Ethan laughed, as if it were just a joke between us. But when he read the numbers – gym fees, increased food budget, cooking courses, salary of $ 75,000 for my lost income – his smile wrapped. At a time when he reached the planned $ 75,000 for my salary, his face was exhausted.
“Do you mean it?” He asked and picked up the paper as if he could jump on him. “That’s crazy! $ 1,200 for a coach? Hundreds of other foods? Do you want for your $ 75,000?” His voice was louder. “Marisol, that’s crazy!”
I picked up my eyebrows and said with a feigned innocence: “But sweetheart, did you want everything to be perfect, did you see that you do not want to achieve perfection?” I stressed that if I had to fully devote myself to my vision, it would have to be treated as a full -time work.
Ethan was flabby. He begged with the pages, each of them was filled with costs and adjustments, his face grew pale with every line. “I never thought …” He started, but I cut it off.
“Exactly,” I said, keeping calm. “You have never thought about costs, not only financially, but in terms of respect and partnership.” I reminded him that the marriage was not about who gives orders – it is a cooperation and appreciation of the time and effort that every partner contributes. What he handed me was not a plan to improve our marriage; It was a plan to make me his personal servant.
Ethan was silent for a long time as he processed the severity of what I said. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I caught up in Glen’s nonsense. I didn’t want to offend you or limit everything you do.”
I nodded slowly and let him see the impact of his actions on me. “I love you, Ethane, but if you ever try to” fix “me like this, you’ll see exactly how unrealistic are your expectations. We are equal in this marriage and we have to handle this way. ”
Ethan, in silent regret, grabbed the schedule he gave me earlier, and tore him in half before he threw him into the recycling basket. I also torn my own list and reduced it to pieces. We sat in silence for a while, the weight of the moment when Ethan gave me a small, crooked smile.
“I think we both emphasized, right?” He said gently.
I smiled back and felt tension. “Absolutely. Now let’s move forward and focus on what really matters.”
That evening we ordered a take -off, relaxed on the couch and talked about things that first joined us. No lists, no routines and certainly no influence from external sources – just trust, kindness and shared vision of our future.
Finally, the exchange between Marisol and Ethan served as awakening, not only about unrealistic expectations, but about the importance of mutual respect and communication in marriage. The tough plan that Ethan introduced was suggested to “improve” Marisol, was a misleading attempt to fix something that was not broken.
It took creative – and somewhat confrontational – and forced him to realize that a healthy relationship is not about one person that sets the rules for another. Instead, it is a cooperation, the valuation of the contributions that each person brings and evolving as equal.
During their moment of tension and breaking unrealistic expectations, both learned that the real partnership is about compromise, understanding and willingness to listen. When they moved forward, they realized that their bond could be stronger when they stopped changing each other and began to concentrate on how to build the future that worked for both. The schedules were discarded, but the lessons remained clear: Love, Respect and Equality are the true foundations of a prosperous marriage.