A man can never have enough cables and leads, apparently. We have at least a black bin bag and a half, but, quite often, the male members of my household are unable to find the particular cable or lead that they need. At this point, all attention generally turns to me, and a conversation similar to the one below ensues:
'Where is the lead I left in the middle of the dining room table, on the 20th March 2004?' enquires a family member, somewhat accusingly.
'Why do you think I would know?' I ask, playing for time.
'Well, you are the only one who tidies up around here!' replies the male family member, triumphantly.
The trap has been set. He is aware that I will desperately feel the need to say 'I certainly am the only person who ever tidies up around here!' but if I say that, it will be an admission of guilt. I bite back my tempting retort and reply truthfully 'I don't remember seeing it and I don't know where it is. If I had moved it, I would have put it in one of those black bags, or on the shelf under the computer table. Learn to look after your own things' I add in my own defence. 'Don't leave it to me. Put them somewhere safe, if you don't want to lose them.'
Back comes the inevitable reply. 'I do look after my own things. I did put it somewhere safe. I put it in the middle of the dining room table.'
When the lead or cable is finally found in someone's car (It has been known.) or drawer, the family member still regards me with some suspicion. He doesn't feel that he could possibly have put it there himself and forgotten. He feels that it was definitely me, who put it wherever, with the unfathomable, but determined, objective that it would never, ever be found again.
Inevitably, by the time the missing cable or lead has been found, a new one has already been purchased.
One of the observations on my lengthy list, relating to the male sex, clearly states that, men are perfectly capable of searching for lost items, but totally incapable of ever finding them, particularly if aforesaid items are surrounded by others of similar shape and size. This could well explain why we have a bin bag and a half of cables and leads in the first place.
Note: A recent blog by p.r (A Day at the Shops) set the above train of thought in motion.
Maths and me
19 minutes ago
11 comments:
Hiya Mean Mom, I think what you're describing is called "a man's look" - an aimless and cursory "search" for something whilst waiting for a woman to find it.
Cables, wires and plugs. What is the attraction? I dunno.
Hi swearing mother. Excellent 'a man's look'. I wondered what I was describing.
Oh God the cables on the dining room table! When I find them there I want to wrap them around my husbands neck! We've done a huge amount of remodelling to a house we moved into three years ago and he's done a fantastic job but sometimes all I do is move one set of cables, paint pots and brushes - you name it - from one room to the next.
I'd put the stuff in his super dooper double sized shed he has in the garden but I hate spiders so much and last time I went in there was something on the wall beside me so big that it would have made a tarantula look minute. Jesus Christ - I ran screaming from the shed like a woman posessed. Great post. Sums up guys pretty well I'd say!
Oh dear - you've certainly struck a nerve.
My husband is an ace example. There's always an implication that his pen/notebook/tool/ruler/whatever has been 'tidied up' or 'thrown away' (as if I would!) When that doesn't work he turns suspiciously to work mates or children, ever so vaguely insinuating that someone has borrowed/nicked said item.
He frets and blusters about it for a couple of days and then stops. When challenged as to whether he's found it he inevitably admits humbly that he found it in his pocket. Case in point!
Hi Mean Mom,
my husband sayd it is easeir to ask where something is, than to bother looking himself - why? because I do all the tidying. So much so that when he does the drying up he leaves it all over the units for me to put away because he doesn't know where it all goes - yep, I do all the cooking as well.
Thanks for your comments on my blog - it's nice to be reading yours too. I love the photo of you as a child - reminds me of my sister and I at the May Festival.
Best regards, Margot.
HI mob Thanks for calling by. I am so glad that I don't suffer alone. I LOATHE cleaning. It is so much easier if surfaces are clear, though, isn't it? Unfortunately, they rarely are. We have paint brushes and things too, and sometimes I get so frustrated that I transfer stuff to the shed. No spiders in the shed. They seem to prefer the house. Oooh scary!!
Hi mid-lifer. I'm glad that you are still around. You must have so many other demands on your time at the moment.
My husband and eldest son have also found things in their pockets, which I have been accused of tidying away. They love to send me on a guilt trip, but are never as eager to ease my mind!
Hi Debra. Thanks for calling by. Some men just can't finish what they start, can they? My husband will iron 6 items (no more)and will then leave them draped over the furniture. It is my responsibility to take them upstairs, apparently.
Hi a mother's place. Thanks for visiting me. I do like old photos. They are so atmospheric. Would love to see one of your's, if you have one you would not mind sharing!
Well Mean Mom you started something with this one! My husband is of the other school, neurotic about his "stuff" and always put it away perfectly, so he knows just where it is. However, he cannot put the milk away and for some reason likes to leave drawers just that little bit open!!
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