Wednesday, February 10, 2010

For ScienceGirl

EcoGeoFemme's virtual baby shower is such an awesome idea!

I don't have kids myself, but over the last few months I've seen two of my best friends become mothers. They're really growing into their new roles, and their daughters are two very lucky little ladies!

ScienceGirl's daughter will be, too.

One of the most important things I've learned from friends and family about parenting is the importance of teamwork and a united front - at least in front of the children! One pair of in-laws, in particular, have this down to a fine art. They share all the chores, they take it in turns to read the bedtime stories, and their sons know beyond the shadow of a doubt that if one parent says "no", there is absolutely zero point in asking the other.

Now, ScienceGirl obviously has a kick-ass husband who will do his share of the parenting. But not everyone is so lucky... one of my new-mum friends sent me this chain email earlier this week, which made me laugh and makes for a nice virtual baby shower gift!

ScienceGirl, this is for you... and for all the stay-at-home parents (mums AND dads) out there!

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A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pyjamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and 20 wrappers strewn all around the front yard.
The door of his wife's car was open, and so was the front door to the house, and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. 
In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife curled up in bed in her pajamas, reading a novel.
She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.
He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'
She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'
'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.
She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'



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10 comments:

  1. I remember reading this a while ago. In hour household things are more or less divided up equally (otherwise our household might not be in existence anymore), which makes a huge difference in parenting. I know there are many millions of parents who do it all on their own. I have nothing but the highest respect for them, but I'm sure happy I'm not one of them.

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  2. I love it.

    I can relate to it, even as a nonparent. The whole "food's done" and after dinner there is the "putting everything away", just as before was "putting everything on the table". Everything moves to its places by magic, right?! ;) or should you work _together_ ....

    there is a reason I like the whole "let's swop places for a day and then we can talk about how things are shared"!

    Or just a simple chart on the wall with "trash, dishes, grocery shopping, baby bath, baby changing, baby feeding etc". After a week or two a pattern is usually emerging....

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  3. Fantastic! I'm really lucky with my DH - he does more cleaning than I do! Although, I tend to do more cooking, so it evens out :)

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  4. This is awesome!!

    Thank you, Cath. I needed the laugh today (and forwarding this on to my mommy friends!)

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  5. Makita, I'm glad to hear that you have an equitable split! My cousin is a single mother of three after a divorce a few years ago (her husband was in the army and was cheating on her extensively) and it's just so heartbreakingly hard.

    Chall, I love the chart idea! A great way to keep track of who's doing what. Mr E Man and I have a reasonably fair split, although when he's not working (like right now) he takes on more than usual. He's done all the cooking for the last two weeks, which is awesome!

    Alyssa, sounds like a fair split too!

    Bean-Mom and Silver Fox, I'm glad you liekd it! It made me chuckle too!

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  6. LOL! I read this to Hubby and he said he'll clean up the dog food ;)

    The "unified front" advice makes sense to me - we've been talking about it for awhile now. Now we just got to hope that we are clever enough to outsmart our kid ;) (we have some time to practice, right?)

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  7. Hubby and I were still laughing about this one as we got ready for sleep. Then he said, "I hope this convinces you that the world will not end if you take a nap instead of doing dishes or laundry when you are still on maternity leave and I am back at work; they can wait till I get back!" I know I am truly lucky, and thank you for giving me a reference point of a mess that still doesn't spell the end of the world :)

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  8. MH and SG, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

    SG, that was a great response by your hubby! Now just remember to hold him to it!

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