Source: Getty.comkatleho Seisa / Getty
Do you want to know what the ironic thing is about so many men being practically allergic to committed relationships when they’re young? It’s that, when they finally do marry, they become total reliant babies to their spouses. Perhaps that’s why men can be so intent on being forever-bachelors in their younger years. They know, deep down, that when they find the one, they’ll lean on her for everything and forget how to take care of themselves. I see it all of the time—the little secret things women do, that their partners don’t even know about, just to keep their relationship and their partner’s wellbeing afloat. You know how they say that the man is a head of the family but the woman is the neck and the neck can turn the head any way she wants? I think there’s a lot of truth to that. The neck keeps the head up, too. Here are ways men become very reliant on their partners.
via GIPHY
Keeping up with doctor’s appointments
If a man didn’t have his partner to make his regular doctor’s appointments for him, I think he could go a decade without getting a checkup. In fact, when I met my boyfriend, he hadn’t been to the doctor in nearly seven years. And guess who makes sure he goes every year now?
via GIPHY
Seeing a doctor if there’s an issue
Men would also just let blatantly concerning symptoms go on and on, without seeing a specialist, if it wasn’t for their caring partners. They just assume that painful coughs or chronic constipation is totally normal and will go away on its own. It takes a woman to say, “That’s not normal! You’re going to the doctor!”
via GIPHY
Social planning
While men like their friends and enjoy socializing, they completely forget to make time for it. It usually falls on the women to reach out to friends, look up events, and keep the social calendar full.
via GIPHY
Sending thank you notes/holiday cards
I’ve noticed that the female in most relationships stays on top of sending the thank you notes and the holiday cards. If it weren’t for her, the couple as a whole would look like a couple of jerks.
via GIPHY
Buying gifts for mutual friends
Men don’t seem to think about the fact that they’re being hosted at a dinner party two days before Christmas and the event was labeled a holiday party, so maybe they should bring a little host gift to the hosting couple. Women are on top of that, typically.
via GIPHY
Correspondence with mutual friends
If two couples are friends and hang out, I can almost promise you that it’s the women in those couples sending the texts, making the phone calls, and checking the calendars. Women handle the correspondence.
via GIPHY
Keeping the fridge stocked
So many men I know go to the grocery store every day, to get something just for that day, and return the next day. Then, when they get into serious relationships, they get used to having a partner who keeps a stocked fridge and pantry. Should said partner go on a trip and not stock the fridge, her partner starves.
via GIPHY
What’s the dress code?
Men can be at a total loss on what to wear to various events. Anniversary parties, weddings, graduations, retirement parties—what is the dress code? The man is at a loss; the woman has the answers.
via GIPHY
Pep talks during career letdowns
We secretly, quietly become the career motivators and coaches to our partners. They come to us with their meltdowns, asserting that it’s all over and that they are failures. And we pick them up off the floor, give them pep talks, and send them back out into the world.
via GIPHY
Making time to relax
Men don’t remember to relax. They’ll just go, go, go. Luckily, they have partners who notice when they’re clearly on the verge of collapsing and who force them to take a day off, or get a massage.
via GIPHY
Making time for the relationship
No matter how much a man may love his partner, he can totally forget to make time for date night. He can fill up his calendar and neglect to realize that, whoops, he didn’t leave even one night in a two-month span open for date night. He has his partner to remind him of that.
via GIPHY
Watching for allergens
My boyfriend just ate food to which is he allergic—knowingly—for years because he neglected to check ingredients lists and was too embarrassed to ask a server what was in the food. That’s changed since I’ve come along.
via GIPHY
Representing at social events
When the man can’t make it, the woman will often still go, representing the couple. Sometimes the man is just at home resting because he’s tired. The woman is tired, too, but, c’est la vie. She’s just less of a baby about it.
via GIPHY
Talking to kids about tough subjects
Who do you think talks to the kids when one…has her first heartbreak or…gets her first period or…gets caught drinking alcohol. Mhmm.
via GIPHY
Communicating with teachers
If a couple has kids, it’s often the mother who does most of the communicating with teachers, tutors, PE coaches, and other educators. For some reason, men panic at the thought of these meetings.
