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#2428092 09/18/10 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by jams12
This week I am realizing that I have been married for 9 years and my husband tends to not make life easier for me. I have been asking him to clean my garage since March and he has been promising to do so, never happened.

This one is easy. If you want as you describe it YOUR garage cleaned, then clean it yourself. It's obvious he's not going to do it. It's obvious you want it done. Therefore, it falls on your shoulders.
Originally Posted by jams12
For 9.5 months he has been making excuses as to why we have not had sex, saying we are both busy. I have to nag to get him to mow the lawn or help out around the house.

Who wants to have sex with someone who nags them and treats them like a child? If you want to have sex with your husband, bring the romance, not the nagging parental attitude.
Originally Posted by jams12
In November he lost his long job, as a result of him texting a student, which he said was fabricated, and I kinda believe hm, but he does have over 500 friends on facebook, of which 90% I have no clue who they are. He is generally a nice guy, but when he drinks he gets mad if you get mad at him. Tonight really upset me, We went out to watch some football, and he had two pitchers, I was ready to leave, as our 18 month was with us, but he said soon. So we get in the car and I am telling him that he drank too much, he is getting upset.

Not wise decisions on the parts of the adults. You think he drinks too much but take him and a toddler somewhere that has alcohol, then go into parental mode when you judge that he's consumed too much.

Stop putting yourself in such situations.

Originally Posted by jams12
We get home and he is irritating me to the point that I am putting our daughter to bed and can not find her fav blanket and said you probably left that at the shop, and he wanted to argue some more, so I shut the door.

So you both irritate one another. Based on what you've described about your own behavior, I doubt he finds it endearing either.
Originally Posted by jams12
He comes in and starts yelling, my daughter starts crying and he then has the nerve to slam the door and storm out and drive, stupid.

You guys sound like a good match. He annoys you and makes you mad. You annoy him and make him mad.

What is your plan to correct your part in this mutual drama?
Originally Posted by jams12
I then proceed by telling him I will divorce him as I am getting fed up, he has punched wholes in walls before. I dont realy want a divorce s Ihave a small child, but I do not want him to yell in front of her and not care either. I need some advice as i have had it up to here with his tantrums.

First, if you don't want tantrums, then stop your own personal tantrums. You cannot complain about his while you nag and treat him as a child and then throw a tantrum of your own when he doesn't behave the way you think he should.

Second, if you really want to save your marriage, start with apologizing for saying you want a divorce. If your objective is to build a marriage, then everything you say and do has to have the purpose of building a better marriage.

How about you draft an apology here, and let the folks take a look at it. It will help us understand if you really get what we are saying, or if you are just venting and blaming him for the problems in the marriage.

Now I've been hard on you. Why? Because you are here and he's not. So it does no good to sympathize with you and say, "you poor thing." He's not the only one destroying the marriage here. He has a co-collaborator and that's you.

You are here, he is not, so if you want to build a marriage, the folks here will help you stop your destructive behaviors, and replace them with behaviors that will help build a marriage.

It's only by you setting the example and demonstrating the value of the program that you can entice him to join in the program of marriage building.

As long as you continue to treat him as a child and nag him, he will (rightfully) dismiss your attempts to marriage build, as it really will not be marriage building but, husband makeover.

If you want husband makeover, this is NOT the website for you.

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Originally Posted by jams12
In November he lost his long job, as a result of him texting a student, which he said was fabricated, and I kinda believe hm,

I then proceed by telling him I will divorce him as I am getting fed up, he has punched wholes in walls before. I dont realy want a divorce s Ihave a small child, but I do not want him to yell in front of her and not care either. I need some advice as i have had it up to here with his tantrums.

Hi jams, welcome to Marriage Builders. I see so many red flags here I hardly know where to start. First off,it sounds like you don't know the truth about his job loss. Was he having an affair with a student? I would not ask him, I would find out on your own. Maybe call her parents or call one of his coworkers. But I don't believe you have the true story there.

Punching holes in the walls and yelling? If your husband threatens you with violence I would call the police and get separated until he gets his anger under control. It sounds like he has very little control over his temper.

is he an alcoholic?


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

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Originally Posted by Enlightened_Ex
[First, if you don't want tantrums, then stop your own personal tantrums. You cannot complain about his while you nag and treat him as a child and then throw a tantrum of your own when he doesn't behave the way you think he should.

I don't see where she has thrown a tantrum. Rather she is complaining about his bad behavior. She is supposed to do that. How can he know that she is unhappy with him if she doesn't tell him? The problem is that he punishes her when she does tell him, which makes him dangerous. A guy who punches holes in the walls needs a trip to the jail house, IMO, as a wake up call.

I suspect he lost his job because he was having an affair with a student. I suspect he has a drinking problem in addition to a lack of control over his anger.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


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p.s. Jams, this thread should be over on the MB101 forum. I would ask the mods to move it over there.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


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I don't disagree with what you've said.

But if she continues to try to "parent" him, things will not get better, but worse.

I do agree, if she says she's not willing to put up with it that's one thing.

But she is throwing a tantrum here, and MB is not the right tool to fix her husband.

If her goal is to attract her husband back to being an active participant in the marriage, the strategies and attitudes she's demonstrated will not work.

He may be having, or have had an affair. Knowing the truth will go a long way in finding a solution.

However, what she's doing to this point is not working, so she needs to stop. She comes across as parenting, not as a partner to her husband. If she wants a partner, she has to treat him as a partner, not a child she "needs" to teach and nag.

Making a respectful request for change is one thing. Her self admitted nagging is a love buster. Even if it's a response to his love buster, it's still a love buster.

Now if she wants to set boundaries and work on her behaviors, then MB is the right tool. But it's not the tool to "fix" her husband.


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