James and I are celebrating our 7 year anniversary in July! In honour of this milestone, I’m getting a bit personal and sharing some fun facts about our marriage with you. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be married to a trades guy? Well, you can find out 7 ways to know you married a trades guy below!

7 Ways to Know You Married a Trades Guy

Your house doesn’t have any lights. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating slightly but not much. None of the bedrooms in our house came with central lighting sources, so James promised he’d install pot lights…four years ago. We’ve been living with lamps ever since. Please note that he happily installs lights for other people at work every day.

As a side note, who would ever think it was a good idea to design bedrooms without central lighting? You might sleep there, but you still need to, you know, be able to see in order to get to bed safely.

You pay for services rendered in beer. I don’t mean that I pay James; I believe in slave labour when it comes to my husband. However, trades guys will often swap their services for beer, which is a fantastic deal. For bigger projects, we have paid very heavily discounted rates. We are currently experiencing a heat wave in Toronto and our air conditioning broke (because of course it did) and James’ friend came over and fixed it for us right away #perks

A whole day can pass before your texts are answered. When I’m at work, I spend most of the day sitting (which I actually hate and I would love to get a sit stand station or pedals for under my desk). When James is at work, he spends the entire day moving around, working with his hands, and dealing with customers. He usually has his phone with him (in a trades-guy-proof phone case), but it’s not always accessible or possible for him to take the time to chat with me (terrible, right?).

Given the nature of his job, I don’t usually worry about texts that go unanswered for hours on end. However, there have been times that, also given the nature of his job, I wonder if he’s okay. This fear results in me leaving voice messages like this: “hi, babe. You haven’t answered me all day, so I’m calling to check if you’re still alive. If you’re not dead, call me back and bring home milk. I love you!”

Our sense of humor is really awful.

There is a wide array of work boots and safety shoes on our front step. James’ work footwear is awful. Dirty, stinky, and all around gross. As such, I make him keep all of his work boots outside. Another trades wife I know makes her husband remove his clothes before coming into the house, which I think is a touch extreme (and alarming for the neighbours).

Friends will annoy you by asking for free work. It is extremely irritating when friends ask me if they can “borrow” James (the answer is no, and by the way, he’s not a pair of shoes). If you did something at work all day, would you want to come home and do it for free at other people’s houses? My guess is probably not. Unless the trades guy offers or you have something useful to barter with (and no, your company doesn’t count), please save your friendships and stop.

Your house is in a constant state of disarray. James is an electrician by trade, but he has a strong working knowledge of all things construction. He doesn’t like plumbing and will often tell me, “I’m not a plumber, eh?” but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it (which I love to remind him of). He is always renovating something, but it’s not always my first choice of project (remember the pot lights? We got a new garage door instead). Buster and I have gotten used to living with the sound of power tools in the background, certain areas of the house being off-limits (like our currently ripped apart basement) and watching where we walk very carefully.

Sometimes, “don’t touch me!” is shouted at you frantically. No, James isn’t grouchy (usually). He just works live sometimes (even though that’s a very bad idea – don’t do it) and if he happens to get electrocuted, he doesn’t want to take me down with him. Isn’t that sweet and romantic? It is in our world.

Here’s a sample conversation:

Me: Hi, babe. *touches James’ back as I walk by him in the hallway*
James: Don’t touch me!
Me: You’re working live aren’t you?
James: No, of course not.
Me: Then why can’t I touch you?
James: Because…
Me: Would you let me work live?
James: No, of course not.
Me: Then why do you do it?
James: I’m not!

Please note that electricians think they are invincible. They also lie.

Tell me some fun facts about your relationship below! How do you usually celebrate your anniversary?

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