Have you ever seen that episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” where Ray and Debra ignore a suitcase sitting on their staircase for 3 weeks?  Basically, Ray comes home from a business trip and out of sheer laziness, leaves his suitcase unpacked because he expects his wife to unpack it.  And Debra refuses to unpack it out of sheer frustration that that’s what he expects her to do.  So the suitcase sits and sits and sits as they carry on their battle of the baggage.

Well, it seems the Roller Coaster household is waging our own battle of the baggage.  My husband returned from a trip 2 weeks ago.  And his suitcase is STILL sitting in our bedroom.  I love my husband and greatly respect him, but I’m sorry, he is a grown man, an adult quite capable of removing items from a suitcase, depositing the contents in their appropriate locations, and returning the empty suitcase to the attic.  And although I am a grown adult capable of performing such tasks as well, I, much like Debra, feel that it is not my responsibility to clean up after him.

Unfortunately, Mr. Roller Coaster and I are both extremely stubborn people.  I’d venture to say our stubbornness frequently reaches childish proportions.  That’s why that suitcase is still sitting there.  And every time I walk into my bedroom, I see it sitting there.  I want to kick it.  I want to throw it down the stairs.  I want to unzip it and unload its contents out my bedroom window.  But no, I continue to ignore it.  As does Mr. Roller Coaster.

I have no doubt that Mr. Roller Coaster’s suitcase will continue to collect dust in our bedroom until he has to leave for another trip and has no other choice but to unpack it and promptly pack it again.  In the meantime, we’ll continue to play this silly childish game because we’re both too stubborn to give in.

Here’s to Ray and Debra!

 

38 Comments on Battle of the Baggage

  1. Hell no, he can unpack it, but me being me I would probably mention it until it drove him nuts and just unpacked it :)And yes if I don't do simple things then it doesn't get done!

  2. Only because my husband is TDY right now and I miss him lots, I would unpack for him when he got home. However, if he expected me to do it, that would be a different story. If I were you, I'd at least move it to somewhere where you don't have to look at it all the time, like the garage. =)

  3. I've noticed that since becoming a SAHM I'm expected to take care of everything within the perimeters of this house. Pisses me off. I wouldn't unpack it. I will however gladly wash the clothes once they are in the hamper.

  4. I am the same way!! When Spouse dirties dishes and leaves them in the sink when the dishwasher is completely empty, I want to scream. Instead, I let them pile up and he complains about it so I can remind him of how it all began…:) He's an adult. I don't ask him to unpack my bags!

  5. haha I have seen that episode! I have to say that usually it's me who ends up not unpacking my suitcase, which drivesx my hubby crazy! I am pretty sure in your situation I would do nothing too lol.

  6. Actually, I married a neat freak so I can't say this would happen in our house unless it was MY suitcase sitting there, needing to be unpacked because I am the messy one. But, we are both stubborn so if this did play out, no, I wouldn't unpack it (neither would he) but we would both be simmering about it. Sort of the elephant in the room.

  7. I would not unpack the suitcase just out of pure stubborness, lol. In our household I am the only one who does the "simple" things, and it sure does get tiring. I had my wisdom teeth pulled 2 weeks ago so I was "out of commission" for a bit. My hubs had to hold down the fort during this time, and I think he got a taste of what it's like πŸ™‚

  8. These things usually end in an ultimatum- I tell him he can do it, or I can do it. And if I do it, I'm going to make sure it never.happens.again. He knows not to "let" me do things anymore. πŸ˜‰

  9. I love that episode. When he walks out in his wrinkly, unwashed clothes and gets no reaction from her, priceless. Raymond is my favorite show, ever.

  10. NO WAY! We basically have a rule that if that's your bag it's your responsibility. I unpack my bag as well as the children's bags so I'm not touching his. I say keep up the ignoring… maybe move it to a place he'll trip up on it as a "gentle reminder".

  11. Oh, we go through this kind of thing All. The. Freakin'. Time. I love my husband dearly, but he is a slob and I am a neat freak and this is one of our (my) chief sources of frustration.

    I would try to let the suitcase sit, but would eventually get tired of looking at it. Then I would unpack it and probably do something equally childish…like purposely put something back in the wrong spot where he'd never find it.

  12. Hehe! I love the title! You're right though, as much as you love hubby, we have to treat them like grown men – they seem to ask for this in other aspects of their lives, after all! I had a similar incident this morning with my boyfriend. Trying to get him "ready" to go away on a trip for a few days was worse than organizing a child.

  13. Same boat. We have not had cable for almost two months now because it is a surefire thing that if I do not call to get it done… it won't get done. Mr Stubbron is all fine and dandy to watch Netflix but I am getting so annoyed with it. Ryan helps out around the house, but for the big things like that (or dishes in the sink) he just doesn't do it half the time. UGH.

  14. Glad to know we aren't the only ones that do that. LOL I have left his bag there until he needed it for another trip. Then he had to hurry and wash everything in it, because of course he needed it. I told him he would have to wash it because it wasn't my laundry day. HEHEHEHEHEHE! The crazy thing is, is that he does it every time he comes back. You would think he would learn by now.

  15. Hmmm. I might nag my husband until he did it. =P I have a sneaky way of nagging so that he doesn't think I'm nagging…just reminding. Usually works.

    In our house, though, the reverse is kind of true. I'm the one who will leave my suitcase in the floor for two weeks because I HATE unpacking.

  16. I love that episode! πŸ™‚

    Honestly, I'm not good at being passive aggressive in any way, even for things like that. I'd ask him to please unpack it so I can do the laundry. And then I'd keep asking, as sweetly as possible, until it was done. I'd also find times for him to do it. "Hey, while the pizza's in the oven, why don't you quick go unpack that suitcase!?" πŸ™‚ That's more my style.

  17. Ha! In my house it would be my suitcase sitting there packed on the floor. I don't expect hubby to unpack it, but I'm too lazy to get around to it myself. I appreciate that my hubby doesn't nag me about it though.
    If my hubby left a suitcase and expected me to unpack it for him, I might, but then he wouldn't know where to find his stuff!

  18. Yeah, I'm definitely a Raymond. I'll have a suitcase sitting in our bedroom for a month post-vacation, easy. I just despise unpacking! I'll pretty much live out of it until it's unpacked that way πŸ˜‰

  19. omg, this is hilarious!! We have this same situation in our home. My husband doesn't leave his because he believes it is my job to take care of it. he leaves it because in all his male awesomeness it is only logical that he leaves it because he leaves all the time. Sometimes….and get this…he'll empty it and repack it with staples like underware and socks, so that he will be ready for the next trip. Hope that gives you a laugh and makes you feel like you are not alone on that island πŸ˜‰

  20. For a minute I thought you were writing about my husband and I. Our stubborness has often reached epic proportions πŸ˜‰
    Stay strong! haha, maybe that's just the stubborness talking.

  21. A few thoughts from the male perspective:

    (1) Although the bag on the floor may bother you, it might not be an issue for him – in other words you're waging an epic battle of stubborness…with yourself. So it might logically follow that if it bothers you, do something about it (all of the clothes are probably going into the hamper anyway.

    (2) Traveling all the time stinks. Hotel rooms are lonely by yourself, ordering 3x meals out everyday gets old quick, and the "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" is tiring. Most of all we miss you and can't wait to get back home, kiss you on the lips and collapse on the couch. If you CHOSE to unpack his bag – I can assure you – it would warm his heart and remind him of yet another reason his trips always end by coming home to you.

  22. LOL…One of the blogs I read (I wish I could remember which one) had a "Luggage Watch" last year. (She got some anonymous comments too, btw.) She took pictures of the thing every so often and posted it. "Luggage Watch: Day 37". It was a riot.

    I don't put Jason's clothes away on a day-to-day basis (I wash and fold them; he puts them away) so I don't unpack his bags. If it's directly in my way I will move it to another location, but other than that I just let it go. He's a procrastinator to the extreme on just about everything that isn't work-related, so I had to learn to deal with some of that stuff a long time ago. lol

    And I have to say that I'm really glad that my husband does his laundry before he comes home from his trips. I'd be pretty bummed if he came home and filled up the laundry hamper 10 minutes after he returned home. I guess I'm lucky that he realizes how hard I work to get the house clean so that I can relax and enjoy spending time with him. The fact that he chooses to do that surely does warm my heart. πŸ˜‰

  23. Yes, I've seen that episode! I love the show! Me? I'm not only stubborn, but rather witchy, too, so what I would do is carry the suitcase out to the curb with the trash containers on trash day! (Making sure hubby saw it heading out the door, of course..:-)

  24. ok so that is totally opposite in our house. it's ME who never unpacks. my lover is SO organized and OCD about keeping things clean and put away. me? not so much. i could care less. plus, isn't that why i have so many clothes? so i can afford to leave a few sets in a suitcase for weeks? then it's like christmas when u open it!! OHHH there's that awesome skirt i was looking for!!!

  25. lol, that is like my house, except my hubby keeps begging me to help him. should i say begging or "guilting"…either way we usually both end up doing it but basically he expects me to help him do the majority of it. i may or may not kick it, what he doesn't know doesn't hurt him. ;D

    Hillary

  26. Holy crap! Are you and I married to the same man??? My hubby travels all the time for military and coaching obligations…he NEVER empties that gosh darn suitcase! Drives me frickin' nuts!!! He's 32 for heaven's sake!!

    Found you from TGN Storytelling Hop! Love your blog…can't wait to keep reading!

  27. Haha, totally know what you are talking about! You will prevail, you can do it!! Just start using it as a useful piece of furniture in the room, and in a few years you won't even notice it is there, ha!
    I am so glad you linked up to the storytellers blog hop!! Thanks for doing so, and have a great weekend! πŸ™‚

  28. Haha! Fantastic!! There's NO WAY IN HELL I'd unpack it! But then it's all academic to me – my man's an anal Virgo, so HE'S the one who'd be annoyed by it being there …

    Maybe gold-plate it once it's been there for another month or two??

  29. Oh I am totally stubborn as well. I was staying at a bf's house while he was away needless to say he came home and collapsed on the bed and just looked at me. Yeah right sir! I think his bag sat in the entrance for a couple of weeks!

    Popping over from the Storytellers Hop.

  30. I love that show. My husband travels alot and sometimes he unpacks and sometimes I do it. Depends on my mood. LOL Following the Storyteller Blog Hop. Come on by and follow me too. My husband was Navy for 6 yrs. Now my 19 yr old daughter has enlisted. It is killing my heart! Didn't expect it to be a daughter to enlist. Go figure.

  31. I would only unpack it if it had anything I needed in it, and then I might just take that out and leave the rest. I'm no one's mother.
    Meri
    merigoesround.blogspot.com

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