AITA for Cleaning Out the Medicine Cabinet?
Alright, gather ’round folks. Let me introduce you to a juicy tale straight from the virtual halls of Reddit’s AITA thread. This goldmine comes courtesy of a 57-year-old man who’s been hitched to his wife, a sprightly 52-year-old, for three decades. That’s right; they’ve been conjugally bound longer than some of us have been alive! But, as it goes with most marriages, even this seasoned duo can still find themselves entangled in a good ol’ domestic spat.
So here’s how it all went down. Picture this: our protagonist (let’s call him Bob) decides one fine day to channel his inner Marie Kondo and tackle the medicine cabinet while his better half (let’s call her Linda) is out slaving away at work. Noble endeavor? Absolutely. But Bob, oh dear Bob, takes it a step further. The man’s thorough, you see. And when he discovers a veritable pharmacy of expired meds and duplicate bottles – four bags of cough drops, three bottles of ibuprofen, and let’s not even start on the antacids – he decides it’s decluttering time.
Bob, being the thoughtful (or possibly passive-aggressive) darling that he is, documents the entire cleansing ritual on camera. Yes, dearest readers, every expiration date and redundant pill bottle is showcased with the zeal of a Discovery Channel documentary. This three-minute magnum opus of trashing out-of-date medication is then sent to Linda for her viewing pleasure.
Now, if you’ve been married for even a nanosecond, you probably have an inkling about what happened next. Linda, upon receiving this medicine-busting film, rings Bob up faster than you can down an Advil, practically vibrating with fury. Her question: why does he despise her so? Bob, in the blind optimism (or naïveté) that only 30 years of marriage and a disregard for spousal energy reserves can foster, insists he wasn’t out to humiliate her. Oh no, this was an educational endeavor – a PSA for their marital medicine safety.
Linda’s response? Less ‘thank you for cleaning’, more ‘could you be any more hateful?’. She even ropes in her coworkers, who unanimously dub Bob the A-hole of the Year. Poor, bewildered Bob does what any modern man in distress would – he turns to Reddit’s impartial jury to seek out the truth. Was he the villain of this domestic noir?
Bob’s Mistake #1: The Documentation
Here’s where Bob began to trip. A simple decluttering wouldn’t have landed him in hot water, but the video, oh the video. As much as us tech-savvy souls love a good vlog, documenting your loving spouse’s household mishaps wasn’t the wisest editorial choice. A polite conversation or a shared to-do list might have worked wonders, but alas, Bob thought he was Spielberg, not a kind partner.
Linda’s Reaction: Overboard or Justified?
Linda’s reaction was heated, sure. But was it unwarranted? Maybe not. Imagine coming home after a hard day’s work to find your quirks and forgetfulness showcased like a blooper reel. And having this display backed by a choir of coworkers agreeing on your partner’s Asshole status? Ouch. It’s a classic case of hurt feelings and unintended shame.
The Sassy Verdict
Now, let’s break it down folks, Roger style. Was Bob the A-hole? Well, did he deserve a gold star for effort? Sure. Was this a rare overture of domestic duty? Probably. But remember, intent isn’t always congruent with impact. Bob’s primary faux pas was in the delivery – akin to serving a gourmet dish on a trash can lid. His heart might have been in the right place, but boy did his execution stink.
In this tale of medicinal mayhem, Linda’s consternation isn’t unexpected. She’s been inadvertently shamed, turned into the unwitting star of a decluttering spectacle. And that just doesn’t sit well, whether it’s at home or in the workplace. If you must scold your spouse (or appear to), at least use tactics that don’t involve a Spielbergian documentary.
So, what’s the moral of this story, my dear readers? Next time the urge to clean strikes, leave the camera phone out of it. Some things simply don’t need to be immortalized on film – especially in a 30-year strong marriage. Time to sip some tea and hope that by the next cabinet clean-out, Bob learns to take a gentler, less cinematographic approach.
In the end, it’s the thought that counts – but communication, dear friends, that’s the true hero in any relationship. Until next time, keep your camera phones for the sunsets and your medicine cabinet clean-outs off-movie screens.
Original story
I (57 yo male) have been married to my wife (52 yo female) for 30 years. Today, while my wife was at work, I decided to clean out the medicine cabinet.
I noticed that there were a lot of medications that were expired and lots of repeats. For example, we had 4 bags of cough drops, 3 bottle of Ibuprofen, etc.
I decided to throw away the expired medications and throw away the extras. As I did so, I made a video of the process and pointed out the expiration dates on all of the medications and pointed out the repeats.
I videoed myself throwing these items away and explained calmly why these medications needed to be monitored more closely in the future. The video was about 3 minutes long.
I then sent the video to my wife so that she could see what I did. I was surprised when she called me back, very upset, asking why I hated her so much.
She accused me of trying to shame her and said she couldn’t understand why I was being so hateful. She told me that if I had been so concerned about our medication cabinet that I should have been monitoring it on a daily or weekly basis and that if I was that concerned about cleaning out the medicine cabinet, I would have just done it without making a shame video.
I told her that I was not attempting to shame her, but rather to inform her. She told me that she showed the video to some of her coworkers, and they agreed with her that I was the asshole.
So who is right? AITA?