This is a male dominated home. As the only female, it is my job to attempt to rep for the entire female population of my sons' future. I'm doin' my best, girls! This is no small task, as you can imagine. I try to give them the flavor of dealing with all sorts of women, all within the convenient setting of their own home. It's not that hard, actually, since I'm at that part of my life when all manner of female moods struggle for dominance inside me, anyway. Can I say that without sounding like an unmedicated schizophrenic, as most slightly pre-PMS women actually are? At any point in the day, God bless my poor sons, they might find me being meek and mild,hahaha, serving without complaint in any capacity within my little home. OR they might find a snappish and cranky female who demands that they take on every chore in the home and perform to perfection. And these roles can mix and/or match, BTW - I'll leave that to your imagination. This sort of unpredictable atmosphere, while not healthy to live in ALL the time, is a good learning environment for my almost-men. Men must learn to be adaptable - this is in the top five of the Good Husband Characteristics List, yes? So far they're dealing with it - and pretty well, I'd say. No one has exhibited any nervous hives, hair-twisting, or nail biting...yet.
In line with this sort of "training", there are a few tasks from which I have been exempt - I mean that we follow the very firm and high tradition of "man jobs" in this home. Say what you will, this is just realistic, and I think good preparation for the possibility of a future wife who might believe that she, like me, is not fit for any household task having to do with garbage. In our humble home, men are exclusively in charge of tub-bottoms, snakes emergencies, car maintenance, snow shoveling and lawn mowing, rogue creatures inside the house, and garbage, of course. However, one privilege, among many, that the men have staked out for themselves and I have surrendered to them, is the care and handling of Christmas lights. Lights on the house and on the Christmas tree are solely the domain of males, and I am not involved in any way in the storage or use of holiday lights of any kind. I'm good with that!
My Wonderful Husband leading my youngest in the Honor Of The Lights - it's a rite of passage!
I love the man jobs.
ReplyDeletethey are so few and far between.
it seems everything is a mom job
Boy, do I hear you on this one! I'm in medical menopause, which actually makes me feel really sorry for my little boy... seeing as my moods are wholly dependent on that little patch of mine. It breaks my heart when I hear him say "sometimes you make me nervous"... because he's only 3! I'm hoping it will pass. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm not to menopause yet, but I think being pregnant might land me on the same roller coaster with you.
ReplyDeleteWe have some clearly defined male/female jobs around our house, too. Trash is sort of up in the air. But this morning I left a trail of goo from a ripped bag from the can to the front door (and a bit on my foot), and now I'm thinking that your post was a timely one - I'm thinking of designating trash as one of the manly jobs in our home, too.
Happy decorating!
Sweet Annabelle,
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
God bless you and your family! (I'm still praying for you all!)
How alike we are (schizophrenically, etc. speaking)!!!!! Except that I do the Christmas tree lights. And the decorations. But garbage, large spiders, lawn mowing...? Who would choose to do that?!
ReplyDelete