...if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself.
Yeah, I think the crab said it best.
Some of you may be like me. I love help with the house, but I also like things done a certain way. I try very hard not to be picky because I think Tyler would be less likely to help if I told him he was doing things the wrong way. So when he empties the dishwasher and I find dishes in the strangest spots, I don't complain. And when he takes the kids for the evening and gets them in bed but doesn't put dinner away, I thank my lucky stars that he took the kids in the first place.
One of my favorites is when he folds laundry. He really doesn't know which clothes go to which child. Inevitably one of the kids comes to me with a shirt or some pants and asks why 'so-and-so's' pants are in MY drawer. I just smile and say, "Your Dad put the laundry away," and they always understand.
Just a few nights ago I left a bunch of laundry on the bed. It was already folded in neat piles and Tyler was kind enough to put it all away for me. The next morning, I went to get some underwear for myself and it seemed like I was a short a few so I asked, "Tyler, did you put all my underwear away?"
"Yep." He said. I didn't think much more about it. Every time I opened my drawer though, I could tell that I didn't have enough. I thought maybe I had more in the hamper that I hadn't found yet, but after doing five loads yesterday (almost everything in the house) there was no more underwear than before. I was stumped. I even asked Tyler a few more times if he put my underwear away, but the answer was always yes.
Well, last night as I finished the very last of the laundry, I had some mismatch socks. Everyone ends up with some socks that don't have a match, so I have a drawer where I put them until we can locate their mate. So, I opened up the sock drawer and there was ALL my underwear. I just started to laugh. True, it is the drawer above my underwear drawer, but it is also Tyler's sock drawer. Why would my underwear go in there? I turned to Tyler and said, "My drawer is the third one down.
"What's in the second drawer then?" He asked.
"YOUR socks," I said, stunned that he hasn't realized this. "In fact, you made me move all my stuff down to the third drawer so you could have your socks in here," I continued.
"Really? When did I do that?" he inquired.
"About two years ago..."
Ahh, there is probably a reason that women run the household most of the time. I'm just glad that I found my underwear, and next time I just need to look a bit more thoroughly when Tyler puts stuff away. It may not be where I would put it, but it is probably somewhere close by.
I couldn't relate more to this post! I have this same inner struggle. I am quite the perfectionist and when I have a husband helper it doesn't get done the way I would like. But, I know he is well intentioned and he could not be helping out at all. I should just count myself lucky...
ReplyDeleteI totally agree...David's version of clean is much more loose than mine. I always end up reloading the dishwasher. The bathroom and closet is the biggest point of conflict. Before this house, we always had our own seperate bathrooms and closets to keep it simple. So when his was too much to bear, I just shut the door and never thought of it again...
ReplyDeleteWell now that we have kids who need their own bathroom and closets and our master one is bigger, we now share the master bathroom and closet...sigh. I once moved out of our bathroom into the kid bathroom in protest for two weeks.
Now, when it comes to things he prizes like his guns example, there is no way I could get them clean enough.
I'm so glad you solved the mystery of the missing underwear! Putting laundry away is (one of) my least favorite chores, and I have definitely relaxed on my standards. I now have the kids fold and put away their clothes. p.s. I totally forgot fete day. I'm such a slacker. I'm still celebrating late. I hope that's o.k. (will you check the rule book for me?)
ReplyDeleteYup, this is exactly the same as my life. Good to know I'm not the only one. :)
ReplyDeleteWe're just happy you are wearing underwear. :)
ReplyDelete