My husband is of Italian origin. When I first met him and I went over to his house, I noticed that his mother was in charge of most household chores . My father-in-law helped out a little, but she was the one cooking, doing the laundry, etc.
I've always been a little bit of a feminist. So, when I saw that, I started to think that maybe my newfound boyfriend would expect me to serve him. We had been together only a few weeks and I was probably suffering from PMS, so I started getting upset at him telling him that if he wanted to be with me, he had to understand that I was never going to be his slave... I probably sounded a little crazy, but it didn't scare him away. He stuck with me.
When we moved in together, I quickly found out that he was not at all as I had feared. He knew how to cook, clean and take care of a household. I know I'm one of the lucky ones. Even in 2011, so many women do all the household chores. And, it is not only the man's fault. Often women are too controlling to let their partners take over. I remember when one of my girlfriend had her children, she wouldn't let her husband change a diaper without looking over his shoulder. Eventually, the husband stopped. It can't be fun to be scrutinized when you're trying to figure out your own way of doing things.
Being able to share tasks with my husband is such a great source of happiness. I know that if I'm not home, dinner will be prepared nonethess, that the house will be tidy (he's actually better than me at keeping it that way) and that laundry will be done. In the morning, we have a routine that involves both of us getting breakfast done and the kids off to school. At night, we're both involved in preparing dinner and cleaning up afterwards. No one is sitting on the couch watching t.v.
I believe teamwork is essential in a relationship. Otherwise, one person is doing most of the work, and resenting the other person for not doing his or her fair share. And when that happens, many other problems can arise...
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