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Husband retired, I still work. My husband is driving me crazy!

(86 Posts)
Germanshepherdsmum Thu 21-Sept-23 20:58:41

He sounds like a bloody nuisance to me.

pascal30 Thu 21-Sept-23 20:49:19

It sounds as though you would prefer to be on your own.. why don't you rent an office away from your house and give him some space.. He sounds quite unloved to me..

Lyndylou Thu 21-Sept-23 20:39:09

I do sympathise. You do find time for him at weekends. I am a great believer in working as long as you can if you enjoy it. I work part time from home, my OH is retired now but he appreciates the extra money and keeps himself busy. He shops, cooks and he has his shed for his spare time.

Can I suggest UKMSA Men's Shed Association. Men get together and do whatever men do in a shed! He is probably quite practical if he has construction background. He might enjoy the company.

Germanshepherdsmum Thu 21-Sept-23 20:37:12

Some people love their work and find it very fulfilling. I sympathise with the OP. Her husband needs to find something to fill his time. He has decided to retire. That doesn’t mean OP has to. Nobody with a demanding job can just take a day off at the drop of a hat. He needs to understand that and take responsibility for his life rather than relying on his wife to give up work to provide 24/7 companionship and entertainment for him.

Smileless2012 Thu 21-Sept-23 19:59:54

I think it's quite sad too.

V3ra Thu 21-Sept-23 19:58:13

I wish he would just leave me alone.

Carry on as you are doing and that could well be what he does.
Permanently ☹️

AGAA4 Thu 21-Sept-23 19:55:27

I found this quite sad. The OP has filled her life with so much that there seems to be no time for her DH.
It sounds as though he just wants a bit of her time.

Aveline Thu 21-Sept-23 19:46:18

Just what I was thinking Ilovecheese.
Poor man. You have such a full life with work, hobbies and care committments that you have no time or energy for him. Is there any compromise you could make?

Ilovecheese Thu 21-Sept-23 19:37:48

He needs to find his own entertainment. But I would just gently remind you that no one on their deathbed ever said they wished they had spent more time at the office.

Oreo Thu 21-Sept-23 18:33:48

Either a part time job for him or he needs to find interests to suit him.Gardening project? A club of some kind?

babs75 Thu 21-Sept-23 18:30:48

I'm getting to my wits end. My husband retired mid 2019 from construction, a year or so earlier than I thought he was going to but we've made it work. I am 66, continue to work, want to work, and have no plans ot retire anytime soon. Since Covid in early 2020, they made my job full time work-from-home. I began this new career as a data analyst 10 years ago, different from what I did the last 30, and have found it to be something I'm really good at. I have excelled at it, gotten promotions, and am a project leader for our team of 15, just one step down from my manager. I am finally getting paid what I am worth. It has been very refreshing and I've enjoyed the fact it has helped us financially. The last year had it's own set of challenges as the project I've been on the last 4 years came to a head and required very long work days for many months. Things have leveled out now so I am back to 8 hour days.

I have many hobbies including 2-3 Zumba classes a week (I also got certified to teach last spring although I cannot make that time commitment right now), sewing, 'Cricuting', and I purchased a telescope after attending an astronomy class last winter term. My husband and I attend training with a personal trainer once a week and we both enjoy estate sales on the weekend.

I am also legal guardian and conservator to my 97 year old dad which takes some time itself. But since Covid, I am home all day working, my husband is home all day, and he is bored to death. We are together too much. I crave time to myself. It's just gotten to be an obsession with me. We have vacation property for camping a couple hours north of here so he may go up there for a few days every few weeks which gives me some badly needed 'me' time but when I know he's returning, a sort of 'depression' sets in. I find I am actually happier by myself being able to just do what I want. When he is here, I find myself constantly on the defense as to why I need to plan my day/week, set a schedule and am not able to just do something on the spur of the moment. I really function better on a schedule. He hates that part of my 'accounting brain', as he calls it.

Because of this project, I really haven't been able to take much vacation time. Sometimes it's harder to get job coverage than it's worth and the amount of emails/work to do when I get back just usually isn't worth it and I have no issue with this. Again, today, 'Why can't you call in sick. Let's go do something together'. No, I have work to do. I am not here to entertain him and he is usually met with the statement from me, 'It was your idea to retire'.

I have asked him to get a parttime job, although his pension does not allow him to do any construction, asked him to do volunteer work but he doesn't want to do that, etc. I'm happier at home. I have plenty to do here. Do some married people take separate vacations? I have no interest in travel and the last time we did fly somewhere, he had a downright tantrum in the Bay Area traffic. No fun. Short fuse, no patience. I plan to work until I am at least 70 and if I'm not ready to retire, I've already warned him I'm going to work as long as I want which is going to cause a big problem when I get there but trying not to dwell on the future right now.

Having been involved in my dad's care for 8 years has shown me how much it costs to go into old age. I continue to save some money but do not want to get to a place where I quit too soon and then had to go back to work. I am at a loss. I am so sad most of the time, I just want to cry. I wish he would just leave me alone. He really needs to find something to do. He is so dependent on me.