Mommy's Little Helper

When I was growing up there were definite distinctions between the "women's work" and the "man's work" within the household. This has never set well with me. I remember that my sisters and I always did the cleaning, laundry, and dishes as our chores and my brother did the garbage, mowing the lawn type things. Clearly the work load was not even!! I don't think my brother ever loaded the dishwasher. I don't even remember my dad loading the dishwasher until after he retired!!

I tried to teach my daughter that work was work and there are no distinctions; what has to be done can be done by either sex. When I remarried and gained a step-son, I also tried to impart this knowledge upon him. That was extremely difficult since his mom did everything for him and didn't ask much from him as far as chores. I remember asking the two teens to clean the kitchen after a meal when this 14 year old boy kindly informed me that cleaning the kitchen was "womens' work!" Wrong thing to say to me!!! Needless to say I won that battle and he helped his step-sister clean the kitchen on a nightly basis throughout the summer when he visited.

WHile my daughter was in jr/sr high school I went back to work. I love working outside the home. I worked a full time job and taught at UALR one to two evenings a week. Doing what I loved left very little time for housecleaning so I suggested to sweet hubby that we hire someone to come in and pick up my slack.....well, anyone who knows my sweet hubby knows that he doesn't like spending money unneccessarily!!! So instead of hiring someone he decided he could pick up the slack on my end, which was fine with me. He made sure the house was clean, laundry done, etc, etc...

I left the work world to finish my doctorate and took back the reins of housework (however, we really share this chore). Then I was blessed with two little ones and going back to the work world wasn't an option for me when I finished my degree. Now I am in charge of teaching these two little boys that there is no gender difference in work. We all must do our share. For the older child, Cole, this has been a hard concept to learn since he frequently sees his biological mom and she does not make him take care of himself (pick up toys, clothes, etc). But for my younger son, Franklin, cleaning is a joy to him. He loves to help "clean the house." He lets me know that he has picked up his toys or he has taken care of his laundry. Now that he is four, he wants to run the vaccuum and sweep the floor. He is going in the right direction and someday will make a great husband helper to a sweet girl.

For now the doctor is out....helping Franklin clean the house!