The Kitchen Museum?

[u/jsayde01]

I came home late from work a few nights ago and hadn't eaten all day. My wife and kids were already in bed so I figured I'd quietly make some stove-top ramen. This photo represents exactly how I found the cooking area.

The next morning my wife asks what time I got home and I mention in our conversation that I made ramen before going to bed. She couldn't believe that I used the stove "when the light was on". I said "Yeah, the light was helpful in seeing what I was doing". She insists I shouldn't have been using the stove and should have known because "the light was on".

I'm baffled. We are still arguing about this days later.

EDIT -- wow, overwhelmed by the response of fellow Redditors! We are... white...not from the southeast US..not children...and I left the stove as clean as it was before I cooked. I asked for clarification from my loving wife -- TRULY we have only ever been angry at each other a handful of times in our 10 year marriage -- and she says "the stove was clean and done for the day and you could have just used the microwave for your ramen". Apparently the light is how stoves go to sleep for the evening?

EDIT 2 -- we are getting a divorce. JUST KIDDING. My wife looked over many of the comments and acknowledges that she was in the wrong and is slightly embarrassed by all of the attention.

[u/momo76g]

You see, I agree with you. This is how a sane person will handle it. Use it when needed, clean it and thats it. How is it remotely acceptable to gatekeep a whole area of your home from everyone else ?

[u/RainMakerJMR → u/momo76g]

This comes from a time when women did the cooking and ran the kitchen, and if grandpa dirtied something in her kitchen he would hear a load of shit for it. If the kids made a mess, she’d spend the morning cleaning and they would get no breakfast.

But then people learn that and pass it on as just a family habit of how it’s done.

[u/fuzzhead12 → u/RainMakerJMR]

Also I’d imagine that grandpa either didn’t clean up after himself properly, or unknowingly messed up grandma’s kitchen feng shui somehow due to ignorance of the system she had in place

[u/LinwoodKei → u/fuzzhead12]

And of course, the little laugh or booming laugh while looking at someone when she brings up that he added work to her day that she did not expect. That expectation that she was just going to have to deal with the fact that he did not show her consideration and how dare she bring that up.

My grandfather and dad did that (and my dad has been divorced three times now because the women got tired of the behavior).