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.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
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.
However, that was not the only change in her life following the birth of her twins. Shannon noticed Martin was often irritated with her after she became a stay-at-home mom. He chastised her for anything and everything she did.
If there were dirty dishes, it was Shannon’s fault. If their kids’ toys were left on the living room floor, it was Shannon’s fault. If the food had extra salt, it was again Shannon’s fault.
Every time something went wrong, it was Shannon’s fault, and Shannon, according to Martin, was not supposed to make mistakes. So, whenever something went wrong, Martin would lash out at his wife, accusing her of being lazy and saying she could never do anything properly!
“I can’t believe you’re the same woman I fought with my mom to marry, Shannon,” Martin would often taunt her, reflecting on their past when Martin had started dating her against his mother’s wishes.
Shannon obviously felt bad when she heard Martin say those things, but she looked at her children and didn’t say anything because she didn’t want her family to break up. Martin never understood that, and one day the man just crossed the line….
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“SHANNON! Can’t you hear what I’m saying? Come here, right now!” Martin screamed.
Lucas and Justin celebrated their first birthday that day and there was a party at home. That night, Shannon was in the twins’ room, singing her babies a lullaby and attempting to put them to sleep, but thanks to Martin, this was impossible as the babies began crying when they heard him.
Shannon rushed to the living room after placing the babies in their cradles. “Martin, what the hell is wrong with you? Can’t you keep your mouth shut? Claire just fell asleep, and I’m having a hard time getting Lucas and Justin to sleep!”
“Having a hard time?” Martin laughed sarcastically. “Babe, I guess you’ve forgotten that’s what you’re supposed to do. After all, it’s not like you earn for us!”
“Really, Martin? Stop acting like you do a lot for us! I am the one who does everything around the house, from the laundry to the clothes to the dishes!”
“Look, Shannon! I’m not here to hear your so-called feminist speech. After you’ve put the kids to bed, make sure the dishes are done. I’m going to bed because I’m exhausted. The last thing I want to see in the morning is a stinky kitchen!” Martin remarked angrily, pointing to their kitchen sink piled high with dishes.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“You can’t be serious, Martin! How can you even ask me to do everything alone? I had to cook for everyone, now I’m busy with the babies. Can’t you at least help me?”
“Do what? Help?” Martin laughed. “It’s your job, Shannon. Do it properly at least once. Okay?” he added before departing for their bedroom.
“Look, Martin….” Shannon had just started speaking when she felt a little dizzy. She grasped the ends of a table tightly and continued, “Martin, I haven’t had the time to eat anything since morning. Ca-Can you….” Before Shannon could finish speaking, she felt her head getting heavy and collapsed to the ground.
As Shannon collapsed, the vase on the table fell and broke into pieces, making a loud noise that alerted Martin. When he turned around and saw Shannon had fainted, he frowned. “Shannon, get up! Can you hear me? See, if you’re just pretending, it’s not funny!”
When Shannon didn’t respond, the man got worried. He dialed 911 and dashed to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He splattered water on Shannon’s face, but she didn’t wake up!
Martin called his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Cameron, and asked her to watch the kids while he waited for the ambulance.
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.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
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!
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
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.
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?”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
“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.
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