My wife made an interesting comment yesterday: “I think women are just genetically better at cleaning the house than men!” What prompted this? Of course there’s a story.
We both have a list of jobs we do around the house. Since my stroke mine has gotten a little smaller and, as a result, Priscilla’s has gotten longer. I try to help and do what I can and one of my jobs is dusting. Yesterday she was in our front room and asked, “Do you dust in here?” I answered, “Of course I do! Why?” To which she replied, “Well you didn’t get the top of the trunk.” We have an old trunk we found at an antiques store and apparently I missed a spot! Maybe the whole thing, I don’t remember.
That’s when she made the comment about women doing a better job at cleaning.
What do you think? Is it a guy thing to do just what you think needs doing and a woman does a thorough cleaning? I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t move the things on the dresser, I just dust around them. That’s what people see right? I don’t do that all the time. Sometimes I do take everything off and dust the whole area but, truthfully, not all the time.
It also doesn’t help that she works two 24-hour shifts a week as a paramedic so they also have station chores to do. Priscilla works with all men on her shifts soooo things can get interesting.
Last week there was the typical workplace microwave disaster. Somebody warmed up some Italian dish and there was marinara sauce and cheese all over the inside. Which prompted Priscilla to leave a note saying, “Feel free to use the microwave. And feel free to clean it after you use it!”
Of course, leaving such a note can cause problems as Pam once discovered on “The Office.”
There’s the typical empty bottle that missed the can and never gets picked up. You obviously know you missed the shot. Most guys that I know do a play-by-play commentary as they’re shooting. I wonder what their reasoning is for not picking it up. Is it the usual, “Ah someone else will get it.”
She also told me that one of the duties is to sweep the apparatus floor. Sometimes leaves blow in the garage or there’s sand that gets tracked in with the trucks. What’s the issue? Well they have things along the walls so, one would think, you should move those things to get at all the dirt and cobwebs. Yeah, you would think. I guess it’s kind of like my dusting is sometimes: just do what people will see.
The all-time classic though has to be the time she actually sent me a photo from work saying, “Can you believe this?!?”
Well, at least they didn’t leave you with no roll! I guess the workings of a toilet paper dispenser are not something that all people learn.
Now I’m sure I will hear from at least one spouse who says, “My husband isn’t like that. He’s wonderful!” At least I hope I do. Maybe as a species were doomed!
I realize I have to step up my game around here and I’ll try to get better next week. It’s just decades of doing “just enough.” It might take me a little time.
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