Don't Hate Me Because My Husband Cooks and Cleans

All day yesterday, I talked about changing sheets. I thought about changing sheets. I wrote about changing sheets. I even managed to remove the sheets from the bed and toss them on top of the overflowing laundry basket. But still, the bed lay naked and the pile of laundry sat accusingly.

Finally, my husband presumably grew tired of waiting for me to do it, so he put a fresh sheet on our bed right before we turned out the lights. And this morning, I returned from an outing at the playground with our 4-year-old Ruby to find neat piles of clean, folded laundry.

Okay, so you're not impressed. You say housework should be divided equally. Why is it the woman's job to change the sheets and do the laundry anyway?

Honestly, it's my job because Avo does just about everything else around the house.

While humorous “housewife” writers like Erma Bombeck and Jean Kerr famously poked fun at their husbands for not pitching in around the house, I feel guilty that my doting husband does more than his fair share.

How many other husbands bleach the grout around the kitchen sink, do the food shopping and cooking AND fold the laundry?

Not only is Avo an enthusiastic and naturally talented chef, but he is also handy around the house. He repairs small appliances, washes the windows, and cleans the toilets and the litter box (a.k.a. "poop patrol"). And if you can believe it, he doesn’t gripe about it (jealous yet?).

It's no wonder I make so little effort to be helpful when it's clear he's got things under control. Still, it's become a matter of pride.

I want to show Avo and myself that I can cook and clean if I make the effort. I have all the best intentions of beginning a new household regimen -- I'll draw one up just as soon as Avo finishes mopping the kitchen floor.