Kristina Jana Janaa month agoI (25F) have been feeling a bit frustrated with my boyfriend (25M) lately, and I want to share a recent experience that really highlighted this feeling. One night, around midnight, I was getting ready to go to sleep when my boyfriend asked if I could make him a cup of tea. He had just treated me to dinner, and I genuinely wanted to show my appreciation by getting up to make him the tea he requested. He told me what kind of tea he wanted and how he’d like it prepared. I went to boil some water and steep the tea bags. When I brought the cup to him, I asked, “Would you like me to leave the tea bags in the cup, or should I take them out?” He looked at me as if I were crazy and replied, “Why would I want the tea bags in there? You should have just made it in the tea press.” At that moment, I felt a wave of frustration wash over me. I started to walk away, and he continued to complain about how I didn’t make the tea the way he would have preferred. I mean, why would I dump the contents of the tea bags into a loose-leaf tea press when steeping them in the cup seemed perfectly fine to me? This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. It often feels like he asks me to do things for him, only to criticize how I do them. I’ve started to think that if he’s so particular about how things should be done, he should just handle them himself, especially since he had been playing video games for the last six hours. As I reflected on the situation, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being unappreciated. I had gotten up from the comfort of our bed to make him tea, and instead of a simple thank you, he just pointed out how I didn’t make it to his liking. He even said, “Yeah, I don’t drink tea the same way you do,” which stung a bit. I think I might have reached my breaking point. I’m starting to wonder if I’m being too sensitive or if he’s genuinely being insensitive to my efforts. It’s frustrating to feel like my gestures of kindness are met with criticism rather than gratitude.140
Kristina Jana JanaKristina Jana Jana