Reversing Domestic Roles

Will B.

At the cost of taking a blow to my machismo I write today about my marriages roles as far as who does what work around the house.

As I have written in the past, I have pretty much been living on my own since 15 ish when I left home and school to get away from an abusive situation. So, I have always done my own laundry, shopped for my own groceries cooked my own meals, cleaned my own house and so on. You get the point.

Now to the point, I can’t stand doing projects or handy work. Detest it and have always thought it was a waste of time. I already have a job and never thought about having another one once I get off work. I prefer to call a plumber, electrician or person to do these projects. My wife, on the other hand, just loves handy-man projects and fixing things around the house. Traditionally, the husband does the handyman work and the wife does the cooking, cleaning, laundry and shopping. So, our roles are definitely reversed, and that’s how we like it.

I love to cook. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I don’t mind doing laundry; I’ve been doing that for going on 35 years longer (if you count the years when I just lived with my Dad and brother, cleaning is almost compulsive for me. I can’t stand clutter or a dirty kitchen or bathroom and I love to go shopping you never know who you might run into or what I might come up with to cook for dinner as I meander around Stewarts, which by the way has the best meat department in Young county. My wife loves to paint, saw, hammer, dig and generally build things. I have to say it’s a marriage made in heaven even if it is not a traditional one. Now with saying all this I do find myself doing a project from time to time. Sometimes willing and sometimes against my will. I am actually a very traditional person just not in this regard. I love to open my wife’s door and she happily allows it; I always take out the garbage, this is definitely a man’s job and I always try to carry my wife’s shopping bags just to name a few. I believe a marriage needs to be flexible and we have found this works best for us even if it does mean I will take a blow to my machismo in the eyes of some men.

This is Will B. saying talk to you later time to take out the trash.