Somedays, I Wish I Had a Wife

I'm sure this thought has crossed the mind of every married woman: "I wish I had a little more help around the house."

Lately, that thought has crossed my mind too.

Recently, Michael and I enjoyed 2 weeks of holiday vacation. However, I think one of us enjoyed it a little more than the other.

Don't get me wrong, Michael did take all the boxes of Christmas stuff downstairs after I spent two days taking it down (by myself). Granted, I'm the one who put it up, so I guess logically, I'm the one who should take it down right? But didn't we ALL enjoy it? Wouldn't someone have said something if I hadn't put the tree up or hung the stockings by the chimney with care? I'm sure the lack of Christmas decor wouldn't have gone unnoticed or unmentioned... so I put it up. And I dare say WE ALL enjoyed it.

Also during the two weeks of "vacation" I did all loads of laundry. Twice. I also cleaned the bathrooms, dusted everything, vacuumed everything, windexed everything, and swept the kitchen floors. I also baked, cooked, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher countless times, folded and put away clean laundry (except I put all of Michael's things in a basket which are new strewn across the floor on his side of the bed or still in said basket), and made sure dinner was on the table every night. ALL BY MYSELF.

Is it any wonder that I returned to work from my holiday "vacation" and got sick? Probably not.

Yes I watched my fare share of movies, and played video games during my time off. But I also made sure all the house work was done too. I didn't spend all day downstairs in the "man cave" in my pj's having not showered, watching football all day. In fact, when this did happen for the umpteenth time, I was upstairs fuming (which is why all Michael's clean laundry ended up in a basket on his side of the bed and not put away; I was annoyed and exhausted).

One night he was downstairs so long playing games that he didn't even make it upstairs to bed. He just stayed in the basement. And all the Christmas lights and bows are still up outside even though the sun is shining and this would be a great day to put it away... His son Kyle went home last Monday after spending two weeks with us, and finally yesterday I went and collected the boxes and wrappers left behind in his bedroom. The bed is still unmade and the sheets haven't been washed, because I keep hoping SOMEONE will realize it would be nice to strip the bed and do the laundry (but it'll probably sit there until I do it because it needs done in time for another house guest).

I'm not writing this post to bash my husband. I love him and he's a good guy. I guess I just wish I didn't feel like the burden of keeping up a 3600 sq ft house falls on me everytime. A marriage is supposed to be team work right? And before you tell me I should talk to Michael about this, I'm well aware that a marriage consists of communication too, but a small part of me is hoping his observation skills will kick in without me having to say something (probably the mistake of many wives).

The floors still need mopped, the rugs need washed, the carved pumpkins from our Halloween party are still sitting on the back deck frozen and covered in snow (and yes, I've asked him many times to throw them away, but apparently the Halloween party was MY party... he wasn't there having fun or carving pumpkins or anything...).

Today? He's upstairs sleeping. Has been for 3 hours now. Yesterday he mentioned he wanted to make sure he "felt like he had a weekend."

I know exactly what it's like to feel that way. I have pretty much felt that way after every weekend. I work a full time job too, and I'm trying to finish my field project. And yes, I have had the last two days off of work, but I've been downing medicine and going through the Kleenexs faster than you can blink.

I don't know if he doesn't recognize all the cleaning projects that need to be done constantly because he's spent the last 5 years living on base in the room the size of a shoe box that didn't require much attention, but something's gotta give. I'm not OCD like some of my friends, but I have a hard time relaxing in a home that isn't clean. And I have a hard time letting messes sit around until someone else notices and takes care of them.

Did I mention that while sick, my husband still came home to a post roast dinner, complete with hot biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy?

Like I said, I need a wife too.