Man about the house?

This is not in any way supposed to be sexist or a put down to either sex.

I'm not sure how we got there? But the other day Her Who Must Be Obeyed made the statement that if anything happens to her, I would have to get remarried. Her reasoning for this was that I'm not very good around the house.

Needless to say I did my best to defend myself!!

Still it got me thinking about what I do, don't do, can do and can't do.

It goes without saying that I'm a far better cook than she is. I do use a lot more pots,pans, dishes and make a bigger mess. But I do clean up after myself.

I do know how to wash things both by hand and in the dishwasher.

The big problem we have is that she buys stuff and I don't always know where she puts it. But again in my defense, nor does she. Last time I dived into the freezer in the garage I found three legs of lamb, that even she didn't know we had.

I do know where the store is! I don't know what things cost. I tend to buy what I need along with anything else that seems like a good idea at the time. She seems to know the price of everything and buys things when they are on sale. She works hard at storing stuff in food saver bags. I have never mastered the art of getting that stupid vacuum machine to work.

We have enough Irish Spring soap and toilet paper stored in the bathroom downstairs to last us for about ten years! Still when it goes on sale she will buy more.

I don't drink soda-pop, but we have a store of that, along with case after case of bottled water. (Something else I don't use unless I'm taking a bottle in the car.

I can clean the house. I don't do it very often.

Running the vacuum cleaner, changing the bag and that sort of thing is not hard.

I have no idea how the carpet steam cleaner thing works!

I like the new duster she uses,it has a plastic handle and disposable dusting bit.

I don't like the thing she uses to clean the floor in the kitchen, it also has a disposable cloth, uses something that isn't good for the dogs. It squirts this stuff out,powered by a couple of batteries. I'd sooner use an old fashioned mop and bucket, but we don't have a mop and bucket.

A lot of the sewing that my mother did we don't do!! No patches to cover holes in pants or socks that are darned.

We are both sewing impaired!! Her Mom Hems my pants and I pay the nice kind Lady in the Council Service Center to sew patches on my uniforms.

I'm not good in the laundry room.

Taking stuff from the washer and loading it in the dryer, tossing in a couple of them smelly sheets, turning the dial to "Very Dry" and pushing the button is easy.

My folding technique, does need work, so I don't fold opting to use hangers for everything.

I don't know what or when bleach is used for.

I do know what is white, have a fair idea what is dark, but what the heck is lights?

I'm not sure why but it seems to me that we have enough chemicals, sprays, sticks and different detergents to clean up after a nuclear holocaust. I'm not sure if they are all really needed or necessary?

I take care of mowing the grass and looking after the trees.

The dogs are mine!! I walk them, feed them and take care of them.

I take care of our money, she does write the checks for paying bills that we don't have the bank take care of.

I look after the cars.

She tends to take a more active role in what OJ is doing than I do. They talk to each other more than him and I do. Of course when something doesn't go as it should he becomes "Your Son"

I like to think that we (Her and I) are a team.

I know and am aware of how hard she works, both at the hospital and at home. I'm very aware that working shifts is hard.

But I do think if the time should come I'm more than capable of looking after the house, maybe not keeping it as spic and span as she does, but I don't think the dust bunnies will over run the house.

I'm sure with a little more information I can master the art of laundry -Ironing might take a lot more practice!!

I'm not sure what I'd do with several hundred bars of Irish Spring soap? I use that body wash stuff!!

Eamonn

It sounds like you'd survive. You can do the important stuff like feed yourself and washing your underwear. What more does a guy need?

The laundry puzzle gets most men and today, many women too. Bleach goes in with whites and towels to sanitize them and hopefully make your shorts white again. Lights are your powder blue oxford cloth dress shirts and your wash khakis.

My mother believe that all men needed to know how to survive without a woman. So at an early age, I learned to cook. I'm not a fancy cook, I could be but that's too much work for something is going to disappear in 10 minutes :-). Laundry? In my sleep. Cleaning? I could make a Marine barracks on inspection day look filthy but I don't do it that much. Yard work? I hate it but I do it. Automotive work? Anything short of rebuilding the engine. Taxes? Computer work? That's me too. Birthday cakes? Cup cakes for school? Cookies for girl scout meetings? Hallow'een costumes? I did it all.

I'm surviving quite nicely without a spouse. It's the ex that's struggling. :-) One of her complaints was that I didn't "contribute."

Now when we talk and she complains about the car, computer, taxes, cooking, laundry, etc., I ask, "who do you think took care of all of that before?" And I chuckle all the way back to my batchelor pad where the Laker Girls are waiting for me . . . and then I wake up.

Somehow I managed to live on my own for several years after college but before getting married. Paid the bills, wore clean clothes, fed myself, and picked up around the house.

After being married 20 years, we have a division of labor. I don't do it and she complains. ;^) There are a variety of tasks that she takes care of that I just don't see the sense in doing at all, by anyone. She is happier doing them and I am happier ignoring them. And the reverse is true of tasks I accomplish and she blithey igores.

Both of us have had to travel as part of our jobs. The kids have become conditioned to live with a single parent for a about a week. They understand priorities change and different rules are overlooked or enforced. With a tween and a teen, they are old enough that they can actually do a number of tasks, albiet usually with frequent reminders.

Were either my wife or myself to be out of the picture, the family would be able to muddle along.

You can never have too much toilet paper.

Eamonn, don't protest - agree with your wife's assessment. Then suggest a recovery plan. Explain that it would be best if you "mentored" a young prospective future spouse. As everyone knows, every good business must have a good succession plan in place.

I'll bet she changes her tune quite quickly.

I'm surprised how many people get out into the world without basic "survival" skills. The only thing man should be without women is scarce (and vice versa; women should know how to take care of "man things" too).

Scouting goes a long way toward giving boys the tools they need, and it's one of the many reasons I devote so much time to the boys.

Coming from the female perspective: I believe I just may be lost without husband around. Sure, I used to take care of my own car, cut the grass, take out the trash, fix things that were broken. Dad taught me well because he figured that girls should know how to do these things to be independent. Just as in our house, my brothers were expected to learn how to cook, sew, do laundry, clean bathrooms, scrub floors, iron.

But, I'm afraid after 21 years of being married to a very handy man, I've gotten used to depending on him to do those more "manly" chores. Left on my own, I'd drive filthy cars without ever changing the oil and ride on balding under-pressured tires, I'd have to get goats to take care of the grass, I'd buy new stuff all the time because I wouldn't take the time to fix things (which by the way, is often a sore spot in our house - I'd LOVE a new washing machine, but he keeps fixing the old one), cobwebs would remain in our high ceiling stair well because I just wouldn't bother with the ladder. Sure would have to get a better paying job to pay for the plumbers, painters, electricians, carpenters and other professionals I'd have to hire.

Oh wait, no worries, I have two sons...