2.29.2012

Towels and Socks

**I'll be back with What I Wore when I get my desktop from the repair shop.**

Until then...by latest brain dump:


The other week, I was in a conversation with 2 other women.  And per my peri-menapausal self, I have no idea who they were.  But I do remember the conversation.  Of course my recollection could be all wrong.  But well, I'm getting a blog post out of it anyway!

One woman was young and was soon to be married.  She relayed that her fiance was very helpful with housework and that they had done laundry together.  She, with a light but nevertheless conspiratorial tone, explained how he did not know how to fold towels.  She contended that a towel should be folded in half then again in half, but then it needed to be folded in THIRDS. 
"I KNOoooow, right?!!"  
The two women giggled at the helplessness and hopelessness of men.  Never mind that I don't fold mine in thirds because a) I'm lazy that way and b) they wouldn't fit in my linen closet. 

Surely you have, or you have heard other women roll their eyes when the dad dresses the children and it's not to the woman's liking.  You know, the sox may not match.  Or GOD FORBID, he put the wrong pink leggings on the girl.  I suppose we women pride ourselves on these trivial matters.  We also judge each other for them.  And hence, we might feel self-counscious, that the mismatched socks would be a reflection on our womanhood.

We women can be so quick to joke about men and their ineptitude about household matters.  We may not mean to be mean, but in the end, the constant, little undercutting is, well, mean.  I wanted to tell this young woman, that this eye-rolling at the trivialities of life is but just the first foundation stone laid for their marriage.  That she won't like the way he does the dishes.  Or dry them.  She won't like the shirt he put on for the party.  Or his favorite chair.  She won't like the socks he put on their child.
She might start relaying these stories.  At the party.  Or correct him in front of others.  Little harmless put downs.
Then she'll fight with him because he won't help around the house.

3 comments:

AmyP said...

Maybe you are right, since I don't know this woman or her husband. But I can tell you that I've long complained about lots of things Jeff does "wrong" and he has long complained about my ridiculous rules. For us, it's all part of the fun -- the humor we find in our match. It is a fact that each of us needs the other for a balanced life.

blackbelt said...

AmyP - I'm sure you two would turn it into something fun/funny! :-) We may fight, but then start giggling at the ridiculousness of it. I see many young women who show disdain for their husbands in these small and trivial ways that really show their small-mindedness. And for marriages that arent' as strong as yours, it can become a prickly matter. IMHO.

blackbelt said...

And thanks for reading!