Candy750 wrote:I ask very little of him, and I expect even less. We are both very independent. I can handle the majority of my own affairs, and I make about 2x as much $ as him (= I pay 2/3 of the household bills). The world doesn't end if the seat is up, the trash doesn't go out. If he gets laid off, fired, quits, there is no reason to make him feel bad - what could I say - I didn't have to do that job... I am very easy going. Life is short.
Well, we are all of course exaggerating for the sake of a joke (I hope) but those points you mention ARE important.
I try to leave the seat up, I try to take the trash out before the house smells or it overflows.
Someone has to do it. It is basic common courtesy to do so. And being respectful and courteous to your spouse is most important. Support each other, and when conflicts arise, discuss the situation is a neutral manner. Of course, one would question why the spouse would be nagging about the trash and without having simply taken it out herself

then again, if one is always taking out the trash, that brings us back to one of those neutral discussions.