Housework.
Love it (vacuuming).
Hate it (everything else).
The toilets are icky, the vanities sticky.
The hardwood floors needs a thorough hands-and-knees vinegar scrubbing; the tubs need a rubbing -- with a sanitizing concoction.
Housework.
It's like threading beads on a string with no knot at the end.
Which makes me wonder: does Governor Sarah Palin scrub her tubs and toilets? Does she do her own laundry?
I'm thinking: probably not.
And so there's the great divide. It's simply easier for a woman to work outside the home if she also doesn't have the home duties waiting for her when she gets back.
Case in point: My dearest spousal unit complained this Wednesday last that I stayed at school until 7 p.m. (I had lots to do. Really. Teaching isn't a 7 to 3 job. Seriously.) And, wouldn't you know, when I did arrive at 7 p.m. no one had eaten. Because, apparently, the mom wasn't home to do the cooking.
Now, in all fairness, I should say, because it is simply the absolute truth, that my husband does, indeed, rattle the pans more than most men ... but that night, because I hadn't arrived to notice that he was peeling the potatoes, he hadn't attempted to assemble a dinner at all.
Do we women get accolades from our husbands when we're assembling the lasagna?
I think not.
Wonder where Palin stands on this issue.
4 comments:
The women I know with really high-powered jobs tends to have lots of retainers to help make it all possible . . . including nannies, housekeepers, gardeners, personal assistants, personal trainers and even drivers! Sometimes a mother. Sometimes a husband. It astounds me how some superwomen work darn hard at their 40 plus hour jobs AND make the rest of this happen. So pat yourself on the back for making dinner -- even if everyone else just expects it.
I would be really interested to know how Palin organizes her family/domestic life. I've known working women from all walks of life, and the one thing that they all seem to have in common is that they have to be in charge of the master plan -- whether they are actually doing the vacuuming or not.
Thanks for writing, Bee. And please don't give up on the barbecue sauce.
I've bought the goods, procured a shoe box, just need to get to the post office.
BTW: I saw the movie THE WOMEN on Saturday. Meg Ryan's character had not only a live-in housekeeper and a nanny but a bevy of marvelous girlfriends to pick up the slack.
Wish I were so fortunate.
This has also occurred to me re: Sarah Palin. She must have awfully good nanny/daycare coverage. I heard that a poll reported that people think SP understands their problems more than the other candidates. I wonder.
I got here via Bee's blog. I'm working my way through her blog roll and it's really fun!
Your question about the lasagna: you should!
I think that women are much better at multi-tasking by nature, which is why it is easier for you to juggle so many different things. That being said, men can learn, and at the very least should learn to appreciate all that the wife/mom does! If he's good, he'll even teach the kids to recognize it, too! :)
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