Domestic Goddess-in-training.

One of the interesting things that has happened since the financial roles were reversed in this household is that many of the household roles have been reversed as well, yet there are others that remain firmly in my sector--with limited success, but much animated discussion. The closest he will get to cooking is boiling water for Top Ramen, but that's another post.

I am currently working 70+ hours a week--Most of it 'overnight', but time spent away from home nevertheless. Dean, in his infinite wisdom has made not one complaint about the current state of affairs; he has just picked up the slack in the domestic arena, to mixed results. He does spend a lot more time complaining about how 'messy' everything is {insert eyeroll here}, and how nobody does but him does anything, and he is very good at constantly pointing out to me how well he keeps it all pulled together. Luckily for him he is married to the most type-B person in the world, and also to someone who can be right without shouting it from the rooftops (she says, smugly). So I smile warmly, and cluck sympathetically, and every once in awhile, albeit rarely, point out the patently obvious. For example, last night, I noticed that the washing machine was runningrunningrunning...something it does when it has an unbalanced load, because it never quite gets to the spin cycle. So I wandered in to the bathroom where he was showering and said:
"Honey, I know this is unsolicited advice, but I feel in the interest of our electricity bill, it would be worth sharing. After 20-plus years of doing laundry, I can tell you unequivocally that you are never going to be done doing laundry. You are wasting your energy and mine washing each piece of clothing as it enters the laundry room just so the laundry bins are empty; and by the way, them being empty does not make you better at the laundry, it just confirms my suspicions about OCD."
"Well" says the disembodied voice from the shower,
"I feel better when the laundry bins are empty."

"I feel better when the electricity bill is not $7,000 dollars a month" says I.

"...and I am better at doing laundry" says the wet little fragile ego in the shower.

"Yes you are, honey, yes you are."