An arrogant man constantly mocks his wife for being a terrible homemaker but later regrets his remarks when karma teaches him a lesson the hard way.
When Shannon Miles welcomed her first daughter, Claire, she’d thought she could swiftly manage both work and household. Well, she wasn’t entirely wrong. She did manage to pull it off like a pro. However, things became more difficult for her when she gave birth to twins Lucas and Justin.
Raising three children while working was exhausting, and because she wasn’t able to focus properly at home, she made terrible mistakes. Sometimes the breakfast was burnt, and other times she’d leave the iron on or end up burning the clothes while ironing them.
Tired of seeing his wife’s incompetency at managing both house and work, Martin started getting impatient with her. He ordered Shannon to quit her job and look after their kids full-time. The woman hesitated and said she’d manage both sides, but that wasn’t happening, so she had to quit her job.
Every minute felt like an eternity to Martin, but the wait was over in 10 minutes. As the paramedics arrived, Martin rushed out to the ambulance, holding Shannon in his arms. The doctors informed him that Shannon had collapsed due to exhaustion and would be under their observation for a while.
Martin returned home from the hospital late at night and went to the kitchen for a glass of water when he stepped on pieces from a broken vase. He crouched and began picking them up when his gaze was drawn to a note on the floor. He picked it up and started reading it. It was Shannon’s to-do list.
5.00 a.m. – Get up!
5.30 a.m. – Take a shower and prepare Claire’s school bag
6:00 a.m. – Babies’ milk. Also, Claire should be awake by now
7:00 – Wake Martin up (Why can’t he get up on his own?)
7:30 – Start preparing breakfast
8:00 – Claire’s school bus arrives
8:15 – Martin’s clothes need to be ironed, and his lunch needs to be packed
9:00 – Martin leaves (Free time, hehe)
Till 10:00, you can relax, Shannon! Babies need to be fed, don’t forget! And you have to clean the dishes and Clarie’s room.
12:00 – Lunch
1:00 – Claire comes back
2:00 – Claire’s tuitions
3:00 – Pick Claire up
4:00 – Bake cookies for Claire
5:00 – Start dinner preparations
6:00 – Martin comes back. Babies should be asleep by now.
7:00 – Have dinner
8: 00 – Spend time with Martin
8: 00 – Clean the dishes
9: 00 – Laundry and prepare for the next day
10: 00 – Read a book (If you’re not dead!)
You can do it, Shannon!
Martin couldn’t believe his eyes when he read the list. Shannon wasn’t free for a single second of the day. She was always preoccupied with one thing or another. No wonder she was exhausted! And then I was constantly yelling at her! Martin felt bad for lashing out at her.
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The next day, he applied for a leave of absence and attempted to do the household chores, but he couldn’t even get halfway through Shannon’s list. First of all, he woke up at 10 a.m. and realized he had already missed nearly half of the items on his to-do list. The rest of the day also didn’t go as planned, starting with burnt toast for breakfast and ending with a saltless soup for dinner.
Martin realized at that point that he should not have been so harsh on his wife. She was going above and beyond for them! So the next time he went to see Shannon in the hospital, he stopped by a flower shop and bought her favorite flowers.
He gave them to Shannon and apologized to her at the hospital. “I’m sorry, babe. The doctors said you fainted because of exhaustion. I shouldn’t have been so harsh to you.”
Shannon was taken aback by her husband’s surprising gesture. “Are you okay, Martin? I mean…”
Martin took a step forward and hugged Shannon before she could finish. “Of course I am. Could we please remain like this for a moment?”
“Martin, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, babe. I’m sorry, and I love you!”
“I love you too, honey,” Shannon told herself, a little taken aback by her husband’s unexpected concern for her, but she was glad he was there for her.
Martin had become a completely different person since then. He hired a nanny to assist Shannon at home, and on weekends when their nanny was away, he helped his wife with housework. Martin finally realized, albeit late, that being a homemaker is not an easy job!
What can we learn from this story?
You won’t understand someone’s situation until you step into their shoes. Martin tried accomplishing Shannon’s list for a day and failed terribly.
Respect everyone’s profession. No matter what job it is, it takes a lot of hard work and effort to accomplish one’s task. Martin learned this the hard way when he walked in Shannon’s shoes for a day.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a poor widower struggling to feed his 3 adopted triplets when he receives a letter from Santa one day.