When our washing machine broke six months after our baby was born, I expected my husband to understand how overwhelming it was.
Instead, he shrugged and said I could “just wash everything by hand,” then reminded me he’d already planned a vacation with his mom. While I scrubbed onesies in the bathtub on two hours of sleep, I realized the issue wasn’t the appliance — it was how little he understood the work I was doing.
So I let him experience it. I handed him a full list of my daily tasks and stepped back. By the end of one day, he was exhausted and stunned. The next week, he apologized, bought a new washer, and agreed to shared responsibilities.
What changed wasn’t just the laundry — it was the respect.
