The annoying thing about men ...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that men really can be a complete pain in the arse.  I am not trying to be deliberately offensive or sexist, it is simply an observation of mine that is based on my husband and the opinions are also shared by other people I have discussed this matter with.

Firstly, there is Man Flu.  My goodness I hope that I never get Man Flu.  It's really bad.  Take a bad dose of regular flu and treble it.  When I'm ill, I do moan a bit, I accept that.  More often than not, I take a dose of something that might help and I sit quietly with a cup of tea and try and get on with things.  I have every now and then taken to my bed but that is rare and I have to be feeling really ill for that to be the case.

Man Flu is different though in my experience.  Man Flu, it's symptoms and effects have to be shared with everyone.  A sufferer of Man Flu likes to remain with the rest of the family and hold himself in a strange position, moaning and coughing dramatically.  This way, the sufferer really maximises the irritation caused and spreads his germs at the same time.

Take this evening for example.  My husband came home from work.  Admittedly, he has had a cold and he looked rough.  He doesn't take his coat off he comes and kneels down on all fours in the middle of the living room.  Great idea, the already over-excited children think this is a great game and start jumping all over him.  Then we have much dramatic groaning and moaning and he drags himself to the sofa where he lies, still with his coat on.  I tell him to go to bed, but, being the martyr that he is , no he has to remain there being dramatically ill for all to see and hear.  Lovely.

He also hates taking medication.  Me, the  first sign of anything that remotely hurts or feels not quite right, and I am in the medicine cupboard before you can say paracetamol.  I'm not a hypochondriac but I don't like pain or illness.  The husband on the other hand has to be on death's door before he will even consider taking anything and even then moans about it.

Then there is housework.  Now, I have to admit, that I am very lucky as my husband is great when it comes to domestic chores of any kind.  He does his share and sometimes more and does not object to housework or ironing if needed.  I have friends who are rather jealous of this trait, so I am not moaning about that.  What does bug me is the need to make a big song and dance about having done it.  I do domestic chores on a daily basis, but I do not bombard him when he comes through the door after work with a list of everything that I've done.  Why would I?  Maybe he thinks there is some sort of housework fairy that does it.  Maybe he just doesn't notice.  Whenever he does a few jobs, I'm left feeling like I should award him with a medal for services to the house.

I have to say that I do love my husband very much, he is an amazing man most of the time, a brilliant father and I am very lucky to have him, but every now and then, he does drive me a little bit crazy and anyway we are entitled to a bit of a moan aren't we?