So, what’s something girls apparently aren’t that great at? And what makes men feel like superheroes when they do it? I don’t even have to think. In my house, it’s building stuff. Closets, shelves, anything that requires assembling. But hold up...why are they better at it and not me? Hah!
I mean, a lot of you already know I’m obsessed with LEGO. And I swear, when I’m old and sitting in a nursing home, I’ll still be there, happily building LEGO sets. That’s the dream—as Barney from How I Met Your Mother would say.
Since we moved into a new apartment, we decided to buy some fresh closets for the bathroom, bedroom, and living room. Just one tiny little problem. I wanted to be involved. Like, really badly. Was I supposed to just sit and watch while my husband does all the work? NO. WAY. But then, there was another issue...I couldn’t do it myself because of my injury. And he had to do it because, well, we needed those closets. I needed space for my clothes, my precious LEGO sets, and his millions of Hot Wheels cars. So yeah, it had to be done.
I watched as he put together the bathroom cabinet. I held myself back from commenting. I bit my tongue so hard because, let’s be real, who would be right in the end? Of course...him. Ugh. And just as I expected, he finished it in a few hours. Pfff. Show-off.
But then… yesterday. Oh, yesterday. He was still sleeping, and I could not help myself. I decided to surprise him and build a small part of the giant bedroom closet we bought. He said we’d do it after lunch, but come on, how could I not try? I’m a woman. I had to prove to my husband that I’m totally capable of doing this on my own. Oh, what bravery on my part!
I figured I had at least an hour before he woke up, so I could totally get this little cabinet piece done in time. The instructions said it would take 30 minutes, piece of cake! I mean, I build LEGO sets with a thousand pieces in two hours, so this would be nothing!
So, I got everything ready. Drill, bits, all the small parts sorted into plastic containers, workspace cleared. I unpacked the pieces, opened the instructions, and… bam. Brain. Error.
I stared at those damn instructions for a solid 30 minutes and still had no clue what the hell they were trying to tell me.
And, of course, when I need my husband to sleep longer, no, he wakes up early. But when I want him to wake up early? Nope, sleeps like a rock. So there I was, still sitting on the floor, lost in a battle against the instructions, when he walked into the living room and just stared at me.
"What are you doing?"
I turned to him with my sweetest voice: “Oh, baby, I’m just building part of the closet. You know… I was bored.” (Yeah, like I was gonna tell him I was trying to prove something.)
He sat down on the couch, scrolling through his phone, not saying a word. But somehow, that made me even more nervous.
Then he asked:
"When did you start building?"
And obviously, I lied. “Oh, just five minutes ago. Just started reading the instructions. Super easy.”
I needed him gone so I could focus, so I sweetly suggested: “Baaaby, could you go shopping? We need food.”
And he, in the sweetest voice ever, said: “No, no, you’re so into building, we won’t cook today. I’ll order something.”
…SHIT.
So, there I sat, instructions in hand, scratching my head. It looked so easy! WHY did I not understand?!
Finally, I forced myself to start putting the first pieces together. He watched me, clearly holding back laughter. I wasn’t gonna give up, though! I turned to him and said, “Yeah, yeah, I’m a little slow because I have to do everything with my left hand.”
And this man… oh, this man… looked me dead in the eyes and said:
"My love, you stared at the instructions for half an hour."
Then he picked up the instructions, looked at them for two seconds, and just started laughing his ass off.
"Really? You can build a LEGO set with a thousand pieces in two hours, but you can’t build a small closet with TEN parts?!"
And at that moment, I had to accept my tragic fate. My LEGO skills did not transfer to furniture building. I swallowed my pride and asked for help.
But then—plot twist!—we had guests over and couldn’t finish it. The battle continues today. Let's see how fast he is. 😏
“If you can’t laugh at the one you love, who can you laugh at?” - unknown
With love, @tinabrezpike ❤️