It seems like, especially since 2020, there's been a boom on social media of people calling out imbalanced workloads in the home, with a particular emphasis on husbands treating their wives more like maids than partners.
So when TikToker @SusanDoingSusanThings (AKA Susan Lehman) stated that her husband, Matt, had friends over the night before to watch a game and then revealed the sink full of dishes he left behind, a collective groan could practically be heard, with Susan assuming that he expected her to clean up after him.
But next to the sink full of dishes was a sticky note, and it did not say, "Do the dishes."
Refreshingly, the note had three words on it—but instead of telling her to clean up after him, Matt simply said:
"I got it!"
Susan confided that this note made all the difference about how she felt about the mess.
"See, just because he left me the note makes me want to tackle it (do the dishes), right? I have morning energy, it's fine."
"But I just love that he acknowledges that he left a mess in the sink, and don't worry, he'll take responsibility for it."
You can watch the video here:
Some fellow TikTokers agreed that the note, and communication in general, would make all the difference.
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
Others were skeptical and felt the bar was still set far too low for husbands.
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
@SusanDoingSusanThings/TikTok
The couple didn't take the negative reactions to heart, however. In a follow-up video, Susan revealed Matt's side of the story, in which he explained that he had cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher, and the dishes in the sink were the ones that would not fit.
Since it was already 10:30 at night, he decided to leave the dishes in the sink for the next day but wanted to make it clear that they were his responsibility and not his wife's.
You can watch the video here:
The high school sweethearts also hilariously took the negative "bare minimum" feedback and turned it into an inside joke. Whenever one of them does the most basic thing, the other one now acknowledges that as the "bare minimum" they could do.
This is not only a great example of letting something roll off your back and turning a negative into a positive, but it's also a good reminder that what might not work in one household might be perfectly fulfilling in another, and both of those reactions are valid.
@EdwardLawrence/X