AuburnChick's Adventures

One of my readers commented on my post about fixing the garbage disposal.  She said that I never mention the Mr. when I talk about fixing things.

I pondered this comment a bit yesterday…while on the long drive home from West Palm.

How many of you are traditionalists?  Meaning that household chores are divided along traditionally gender accepted lines?

As I was growing up, I watched my mom perform a host of duties that fell way beyond the traditional role of a woman.  My mom demolished rooms in our old home…renovating it completely.  She peeled wallpaper, sanded floors, maintained a very large yard, grew vegetables in her garden, along with a host of other tasks.  I never saw her shirk from a  task, no matter how hard it appeared to be.  I also never saw her ask for help from my step-dad.

I think that this “can-do” message permeated my brain, and I adopted it into my own lifestyle.  As such, I pretty much do anything and everything around the house.  I fix the plumbing, take care of the yard, clean the house, and cook.  I also keep up with the kids’ school stuff…grades, assignments, schedule…you name it.  If it’s related to the children, I’m pretty much in charge of it.  The way I’ve always looked at it is this:  if something needs to be done, why wait for someone else to do it?

I remember the time when I decided to remove the water savers from our faucets.  We’ve always had water pressure problems, and with our thick heads of hair, this simply won’t do.  So, one day I decided to do something.  I remember getting to the kids’ bathtub faucet and being unable to remove it.

What did I do?

Not wait for the Mr. to get home from work.

I went to Home Depot and bought the biggest wrench you’ve ever seen.  No kidding.  It’s huge.  I should take a picture of it, but I’m feeling lazy.

Well, I got the faucet off and removed the water savers, but then I encountered a problem getting it back on.  Try as I might, I could not get it on again.  I worked all afternoon so I wouldn’t have to ask for help.  When the Mr. came home, he found me in the bathroom almost in tears.  After laughing (and grumbling a bit), he got it back on.

I had a friend whose husband worked out-of-state.  During Christmas, she would wait for him to come home and put up the Christmas tree and lights.  Then, the tree would stay up until his next trip home in January to take them down.

I used to stand amazed at this.  If it weren’t for me, we wouldn’t have a tree or any decorations.  The Mr. has absolutely no interest in such mundane tasks.

What does the Mr. do?  He goes to work.  He will, occasionally, take care of the car needs, although I’m often at the garage getting the oil changed.  I never get new tires without asking him first, though.  He also handles our financial matters, which I used to do but gave up when I went back to school.  It was simply too much for me.  He takes care of Chicky’s soccer business, although I am in the know.  He corresponds with coaches and keeps up with the schedule.

I hope this explains how our house runs.  I think that in the world we live in, it’s not uncommon to find tasks divided up so non-traditionally.

What about your home?

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: housework |