As great as the response was on the cleaning sisterhood, it may take some time to organize my sisterhood, so as a short term solution I enlisted Jeff to clean the bathroom in preparation his mother's visit this Friday. I'm all, you know your mother, you know how to clean to please her, you do it. And he's all, okay. And I'm all gearing up for the series of reminders and such that I will have to give him and then last night he just trots out from WASHING THE DISHES (the significance of which should be itself a separate post), bucket in hand, and starts scrubbing the bathroom floor on his hands and knees. Seriously, that's what he did. I love him.
And I'm sitting there, not cleaning--had done plenty that day myself--listening to him scrub. But it was seriously hard to do. Listen to someone else cleaning while trying to relax. How did the last 800 million years of men do it? Come home and relax while their women tuttled around cleaning up around them? I was UNCOMFORTABLE.
I resisted telling him that he didn't REALLY have to do it--that being willing to was enough, love you sweetie blah blah. Because it really did need it. It makes me wince just thinking about how long it had been.
Then I wanted to do parallel clean with him--you know, scrub the tub or something. I resisted!
Then I wanted to stop him and tell him he's done enough--I didn't do such a good job of resisting that because seriously he would have been up all night scrubbing the darn floor with a toothbrush. Once that man starts something, it's going to be perfect.
Anyway. I could eat off my bathroom floor today. But I still don't understand how all those generations did it. Or maybe the women just cleaned before the men got home, to spare this awkward encounter.
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10 comments:
That's astounding. I can't recall ever having seen my hubby cleaning the floor. But I do remember distinctly the first time I saw my father cleaning the floor. It was that shocking. And he did it perfectly.
I don't think men are as bothered by it as women. I think they just tune it out because they are focused on something else. That's the curse of a woman's multitasking brain. Bravo, you, for just letting him do it. I almost always end up helping or saying that it's okay. Now, would he mind coming to clean mine?
Greg isn't home much, but occasionally he will go on a cleaning frenzy, usually on a Saturday I was looking forward to doing next to nothing on, reading or something.
I can't hardly enjoy it while he races around.
Makes me nervous.
Funny how it makes me feel unnecessarily guilty.
I love the word "tuttled".
Did I get that one right?
If not, I am adopting it..I am tuttling around here as we have someone coming to stay for three days..eeee Gods, I do not know him..he is a friend of my husband and I know from what I hear, he is wonderful person.
I just need your sisterhood of the cleaning angels to be here.
My husband cleans and all my kids know their way around a scrubbrush.
The feeling you're describing is the one I get when I have a pedicure--I love it, but I do feel guilty about the small Asian woman scrubbing my heels.
Sounds like a good man you have there - nice that he jumps in and helps! My husband is pretty good at helping too - but, he is also very good at sitting and watching me do most of the cleaning - tee hee!
Have a good evening - Kellan
Oh you speak much truth today, WC! I remember YEARS of my dad sitting in his chair with his newspaper while my mother worked...literally until we went to bed. Even on Saturday. Funny how gender-assigned duties tend to give women the stuff that needs doing on a daily basis and men (Garbage, mowing, weeding, etc) the stuff that is weekly at best. Yeah...funny thing...
Oh, I know! If John is doing something I cannot sit. He doesn't share this itch.
I'm in shock. On his hands and knees?? Holy shit. Impressive. Let the guilt go - enjoy it!
I love your reasoning to get Jeff to clean the bathroom. I love even more that he did it!
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