Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, are you saying he is unable to find work as a teacher?

This times a million. If it's a certification question, he should look into working in a higher demand area like SPED or ESOL to get back into a school district.

OP, I think this is so, so hard. I also am married to a spouse who was unemployed or under employed and who spent a ton of time and money on a graduate degree that is basically worthless because she doesn't want to work in that field. My DW was in the midst of a crisis of confidence and depression, OP. And unlike your DH, basically was sort of mentally checked out at home (we too had two kids back to back). I had the same question, OP. I didn't really know what to do except try my best to make things work. First, I went to therapy -- alone -- to work through my own resentment issues so I could be supportive without any agenda but DW's interest. Second, I encouraged DW to realistically look at her life and choices and decide what's what. Third, I put a deadline in place. DW needed to take a job (she was offered several but turned them down) and pay her own student loan payments and contribute to daycare or else I would just go it alone with the kids.

Eventually DW saw the writing on the wall and got with the program. She finally accepted a job and while it's not her "dream" she is contributing to her family financially and she is engaging in less of the self inflicted crisis stuff that she did before. She also is in therapy, which I put on her to do (I would join but she doesn't think it's necessary). Things are better but I will say it's hard to support a spouse through a job loss. This is the worst side of for better or worse.

I'm sorry but it's just not the same when the genders are reversed. SO GLAD I'm not married to someone like you. Barf.

Why? I say this as the DH poster who talked about therapy. Should I have just sucked it up and continued to operate as a single parent in a marriage because I was a man? Does being a woman allow someone to sleep in, check out on her children mentally, and not contribute to the financial or day to day operations of a household? Is that why it's so barf worthy? Because I wanted a spouse to actually be a partner in my marriage and contribute to our family in a meaningful way? Tell me again, why is it different because it was a woman checked out?

You should never marry a woman expecting her to have children and contribute financially. You should be prepared to have that piece covered. Maybe your wife is depressed because she married someone who can't cut it.

So motherhood is retirement? Also, did you notice that my children were not under her care during this depressive episode? I spent nearly 3K a month on full time daycare so it's not like I had a spouse who was a SAHP and keeping things running at home. She was depressed, sleeping or crying. But yes, I am horrible.

Maybe she was postpartum.

I am not suggesting that any person, male or female, should stay married and enable self-defeating behavior.

I take issue with your emphasizing that she needed to get a job and contribute to the family financially. When I saw that written my stomach actually turned in disgust. I wouldn't suggest a man ever marry a woman with size-able student loans, and I wouldn't suggest that he marry someone without the expectation that he be taking the full financial load up through early childhood and significantly thereafter.

Most women, especially those with full-time jobs and children but even those staying at home with children, are seriously overworked and exhausted. So I would hardly call it retirement. The fact that you suggest so reveals even more of your pitiful and repulsive view on the matter. I'd be depressed if I was married to you, too. *Shiver*

Anonymous wrote:This post could have had so many titles as there are so many issues...here it goes. I guess we have the typical story of everything being wonderful in the beginning. We would travel and were really best friends. He was a teacher and worked his way up to administration. Then we suffered a late pregnancy loss, some mild IF, and then had kids back to back. We always said we wanted three kids but DH found out he was laid off from his job of 7 years shortly after we brought our second baby home from the hospital. We made about the same salary at the time so that was a 50% cut. That was almost three years ago...... The first year he kept thinking he would get something and when I went back to work, both of the kids were in daycare. He tried to get part time jobs but Target, FedEx, Best Buy etc., would not even call him back. One manager asked why was a guy with two advanced degrees even applying at his store. Times were really hard back then. For the past two years he has been very underemployed working as a bartender (he did that in college as well). Every few months we have the argument about him finding a job and he claims that he is looking but hasn't gotten any offers. He has been on a few interviews but nothing pans out. I am worried that he is going to stick with the 'safe' option of working in a bar forever. He has finally agreed to get current teaching certificates so that he can hopefully go back in the class. The problem is that whenever I try to ask how things are going, we get into an argument. I have so much resentment from the last few years I am contemplating leaving but then of course think of my kids and push leaving to the back.

He does pick the kids up from school/pre-school and is a good Dad. He loves the kids and of course they love him. He is a horrible 'home maker' in that usually, the house is a wreck when I get home. No, I don't think it should be spotless but it is so frustrating to come home from a long day, take second shift with the kids, and still have to go clean the dishes before I can make dinner! I know he has pride issue and I have tried to be sensitive to how hard it is for him but at this point, I am over it. Nobody considers how hard the past few years have been on me and I feel like I am always accommodating him. His schedule means I am alone almost every night with the kids and every weekend while he is at work. It is no surprise that in order to make good tips, you need to be out at night. I am lonely and tired of being home all the time. I can never go out with friends let alone us have a date night. I guess I am just wondering if there is a way back for us? In my heart, I do love him and want our family to stay together so I guess I need some suggestions on how to reframe my thinking. We have no connection anymore. I just feel so angry and resentful all of the time that he is not home, that I have no life, that we work so much and are still just getting by, etc. Since I'm totally exposing myself, I also am angry that I didn't get a chance to have my last baby because he doesn't have a job. Our anniversary is this weekend and yep, he will be at work!

Please be kind DCUM. I am sure there will be plenty of people telling me to suck it up and stop being a baby etc. I have lost a lot of respect for him over the past few years as I don't think he has done everything he could to get another job and help out at him. How do I move past that? No, he will not go to counseling. He says he loves me and wants our family to stay together...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, are you saying he is unable to find work as a teacher?

This times a million. If it's a certification question, he should look into working in a higher demand area like SPED or ESOL to get back into a school district.

OP, I think this is so, so hard. I also am married to a spouse who was unemployed or under employed and who spent a ton of time and money on a graduate degree that is basically worthless because she doesn't want to work in that field. My DW was in the midst of a crisis of confidence and depression, OP. And unlike your DH, basically was sort of mentally checked out at home (we too had two kids back to back). I had the same question, OP. I didn't really know what to do except try my best to make things work. First, I went to therapy -- alone -- to work through my own resentment issues so I could be supportive without any agenda but DW's interest. Second, I encouraged DW to realistically look at her life and choices and decide what's what. Third, I put a deadline in place. DW needed to take a job (she was offered several but turned them down) and pay her own student loan payments and contribute to daycare or else I would just go it alone with the kids.

Eventually DW saw the writing on the wall and got with the program. She finally accepted a job and while it's not her "dream" she is contributing to her family financially and she is engaging in less of the self inflicted crisis stuff that she did before. She also is in therapy, which I put on her to do (I would join but she doesn't think it's necessary). Things are better but I will say it's hard to support a spouse through a job loss. This is the worst side of for better or worse.

I'm sorry but it's just not the same when the genders are reversed. SO GLAD I'm not married to someone like you. Barf.

Why? I say this as the DH poster who talked about therapy. Should I have just sucked it up and continued to operate as a single parent in a marriage because I was a man? Does being a woman allow someone to sleep in, check out on her children mentally, and not contribute to the financial or day to day operations of a household? Is that why it's so barf worthy? Because I wanted a spouse to actually be a partner in my marriage and contribute to our family in a meaningful way? Tell me again, why is it different because it was a woman checked out?

You should never marry a woman expecting her to have children and contribute financially. You should be prepared to have that piece covered. Maybe your wife is depressed because she married someone who can't cut it.

So motherhood is retirement? Also, did you notice that my children were not under her care during this depressive episode? I spent nearly 3K a month on full time daycare so it's not like I had a spouse who was a SAHP and keeping things running at home. She was depressed, sleeping or crying. But yes, I am horrible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, are you saying he is unable to find work as a teacher?

This times a million. If it's a certification question, he should look into working in a higher demand area like SPED or ESOL to get back into a school district.

OP, I think this is so, so hard. I also am married to a spouse who was unemployed or under employed and who spent a ton of time and money on a graduate degree that is basically worthless because she doesn't want to work in that field. My DW was in the midst of a crisis of confidence and depression, OP. And unlike your DH, basically was sort of mentally checked out at home (we too had two kids back to back). I had the same question, OP. I didn't really know what to do except try my best to make things work. First, I went to therapy -- alone -- to work through my own resentment issues so I could be supportive without any agenda but DW's interest. Second, I encouraged DW to realistically look at her life and choices and decide what's what. Third, I put a deadline in place. DW needed to take a job (she was offered several but turned them down) and pay her own student loan payments and contribute to daycare or else I would just go it alone with the kids.

Eventually DW saw the writing on the wall and got with the program. She finally accepted a job and while it's not her "dream" she is contributing to her family financially and she is engaging in less of the self inflicted crisis stuff that she did before. She also is in therapy, which I put on her to do (I would join but she doesn't think it's necessary). Things are better but I will say it's hard to support a spouse through a job loss. This is the worst side of for better or worse.

I'm sorry but it's just not the same when the genders are reversed. SO GLAD I'm not married to someone like you. Barf.

Why? I say this as the DH poster who talked about therapy. Should I have just sucked it up and continued to operate as a single parent in a marriage because I was a man? Does being a woman allow someone to sleep in, check out on her children mentally, and not contribute to the financial or day to day operations of a household? Is that why it's so barf worthy? Because I wanted a spouse to actually be a partner in my marriage and contribute to our family in a meaningful way? Tell me again, why is it different because it was a woman checked out?

You should never marry a woman expecting her to have children and contribute financially. You should be prepared to have that piece covered. Maybe your wife is depressed because she married someone who can't cut it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, are you saying he is unable to find work as a teacher?

This times a million. If it's a certification question, he should look into working in a higher demand area like SPED or ESOL to get back into a school district.

OP, I think this is so, so hard. I also am married to a spouse who was unemployed or under employed and who spent a ton of time and money on a graduate degree that is basically worthless because she doesn't want to work in that field. My DW was in the midst of a crisis of confidence and depression, OP. And unlike your DH, basically was sort of mentally checked out at home (we too had two kids back to back). I had the same question, OP. I didn't really know what to do except try my best to make things work. First, I went to therapy -- alone -- to work through my own resentment issues so I could be supportive without any agenda but DW's interest. Second, I encouraged DW to realistically look at her life and choices and decide what's what. Third, I put a deadline in place. DW needed to take a job (she was offered several but turned them down) and pay her own student loan payments and contribute to daycare or else I would just go it alone with the kids.

Eventually DW saw the writing on the wall and got with the program. She finally accepted a job and while it's not her "dream" she is contributing to her family financially and she is engaging in less of the self inflicted crisis stuff that she did before. She also is in therapy, which I put on her to do (I would join but she doesn't think it's necessary). Things are better but I will say it's hard to support a spouse through a job loss. This is the worst side of for better or worse.

I'm sorry but it's just not the same when the genders are reversed. SO GLAD I'm not married to someone like you. Barf.

So if it's a man he is supposed to be a human ATM and live with a depressed wife and never say enough is enough?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, are you saying he is unable to find work as a teacher?

This times a million. If it's a certification question, he should look into working in a higher demand area like SPED or ESOL to get back into a school district.

OP, I think this is so, so hard. I also am married to a spouse who was unemployed or under employed and who spent a ton of time and money on a graduate degree that is basically worthless because she doesn't want to work in that field. My DW was in the midst of a crisis of confidence and depression, OP. And unlike your DH, basically was sort of mentally checked out at home (we too had two kids back to back). I had the same question, OP. I didn't really know what to do except try my best to make things work. First, I went to therapy -- alone -- to work through my own resentment issues so I could be supportive without any agenda but DW's interest. Second, I encouraged DW to realistically look at her life and choices and decide what's what. Third, I put a deadline in place. DW needed to take a job (she was offered several but turned them down) and pay her own student loan payments and contribute to daycare or else I would just go it alone with the kids.

Eventually DW saw the writing on the wall and got with the program. She finally accepted a job and while it's not her "dream" she is contributing to her family financially and she is engaging in less of the self inflicted crisis stuff that she did before. She also is in therapy, which I put on her to do (I would join but she doesn't think it's necessary). Things are better but I will say it's hard to support a spouse through a job loss. This is the worst side of for better or worse.

I'm sorry but it's just not the same when the genders are reversed. SO GLAD I'm not married to someone like you. Barf.

Why? I say this as the DH poster who talked about therapy. Should I have just sucked it up and continued to operate as a single parent in a marriage because I was a man? Does being a woman allow someone to sleep in, check out on her children mentally, and not contribute to the financial or day to day operations of a household? Is that why it's so barf worthy? Because I wanted a spouse to actually be a partner in my marriage and contribute to our family in a meaningful way? Tell me again, why is it different because it was a woman checked out?

Anonymous wrote:Hold on a second...he swallowed his pride to work as a bartender but let his teaching certificates lapse? And works nights/weekends? And doesn't clean up? Just no. No way. I would seriously wonder if the bartending gig helps him feel young and this the reason he's dragging his feet. Those folks work hard but the job is also pretty social...I'll also point out as a former waitress that it's not an awesome profession for a married guy with 2 little kids. Other restaurant workers know what I'm talking about.

Dude needs to go back to the classroom and be home at night if you have a newborn, FFS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, are you saying he is unable to find work as a teacher?

This times a million. If it's a certification question, he should look into working in a higher demand area like SPED or ESOL to get back into a school district.

OP, I think this is so, so hard. I also am married to a spouse who was unemployed or under employed and who spent a ton of time and money on a graduate degree that is basically worthless because she doesn't want to work in that field. My DW was in the midst of a crisis of confidence and depression, OP. And unlike your DH, basically was sort of mentally checked out at home (we too had two kids back to back). I had the same question, OP. I didn't really know what to do except try my best to make things work. First, I went to therapy -- alone -- to work through my own resentment issues so I could be supportive without any agenda but DW's interest. Second, I encouraged DW to realistically look at her life and choices and decide what's what. Third, I put a deadline in place. DW needed to take a job (she was offered several but turned them down) and pay her own student loan payments and contribute to daycare or else I would just go it alone with the kids.

Eventually DW saw the writing on the wall and got with the program. She finally accepted a job and while it's not her "dream" she is contributing to her family financially and she is engaging in less of the self inflicted crisis stuff that she did before. She also is in therapy, which I put on her to do (I would join but she doesn't think it's necessary). Things are better but I will say it's hard to support a spouse through a job loss. This is the worst side of for better or worse.

I'm sorry but it's just not the same when the genders are reversed. SO GLAD I'm not married to someone like you. Barf.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, are you saying he is unable to find work as a teacher?

This times a million. If it's a certification question, he should look into working in a higher demand area like SPED or ESOL to get back into a school district.

OP, I think this is so, so hard. I also am married to a spouse who was unemployed or under employed and who spent a ton of time and money on a graduate degree that is basically worthless because she doesn't want to work in that field. My DW was in the midst of a crisis of confidence and depression, OP. And unlike your DH, basically was sort of mentally checked out at home (we too had two kids back to back). I had the same question, OP. I didn't really know what to do except try my best to make things work. First, I went to therapy -- alone -- to work through my own resentment issues so I could be supportive without any agenda but DW's interest. Second, I encouraged DW to realistically look at her life and choices and decide what's what. Third, I put a deadline in place. DW needed to take a job (she was offered several but turned them down) and pay her own student loan payments and contribute to daycare or else I would just go it alone with the kids.

Eventually DW saw the writing on the wall and got with the program. She finally accepted a job and while it's not her "dream" she is contributing to her family financially and she is engaging in less of the self inflicted crisis stuff that she did before. She also is in therapy, which I put on her to do (I would join but she doesn't think it's necessary). Things are better but I will say it's hard to support a spouse through a job loss. This is the worst side of for better or worse.

I'm sorry but it's just not the same when the genders are reversed. SO GLAD I'm not married to someone like you. Barf.