-Tip O'neil, Speaker of the House (D-MA), 1977-1987
Well then. Over the course of the first trimester, I've certainly thought about Tip's quote more than once. Since SJC has been down for the count with near-constant nausea and general fatigue, I've picked up quite a few new responsibilities around our house. I do the laundry. I clean the bathrooms. I sweep the floors. I cook all the meals. I clean up from all the meals. I guess our roles have been pretty much reversed, except that under the old system, I wasn't sick. Go figure.
At first, I was pretty much clueless. In fact, when SJC first came down with her symptoms, we didn't bother to change anything. The house simply became a mess. So after discussing it, we agreed that I should start taking on some extra chores, which I wrote down on a list. That's how freaking clueless I was. I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to do. I'd say that I was young and stupid back then, but we're talking about August here, not 1994.
The funny thing is, though, that I've become relatively proficient at my new domestic responsibilities, and I've actually grown to enjoy doing them. There's something really rewarding about cooking for someone else, waiting on someone, and generally taking care of someone. This is something I completely didn't expect. I certainly knew that I would get a sense of satisfaction from cleaning up the house --- that was always true for me --- but I never figured on how good it would feel to be the head of household, around the house. Perhaps Tip's quote should be rearranged to "Once in a while I like to do a little cooking, to remind myself how satisfying domestic caretaking is."
Still, these observations are all based on nothing more than six weeks on the job --- and a sense that things will be reconfigured again when SJC isn't sick, or after the baby comes, or whenever. I certainly have grown to appreciate how never-ending domestic work is, and that can be depressing at times. And I have an incredibly appreciate wife; for the first time over the past few weeks I realized why so many wives/moms get upset when people don't like what they made for dinner. Perhaps I'm just in a honeymoon phase with all of this, but right now I'm pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it has been.
That said, I did register a moment of shock when we were out talking to our neighbors today and Sarah mentioned how I was doing so much work around the house since she had been sick. They responded with a knowing smile and a "Well, just wait till the baby comes, then the father's real work begins."
At first, I was pretty much clueless. In fact, when SJC first came down with her symptoms, we didn't bother to change anything. The house simply became a mess. So after discussing it, we agreed that I should start taking on some extra chores, which I wrote down on a list. That's how freaking clueless I was. I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to do. I'd say that I was young and stupid back then, but we're talking about August here, not 1994.
The funny thing is, though, that I've become relatively proficient at my new domestic responsibilities, and I've actually grown to enjoy doing them. There's something really rewarding about cooking for someone else, waiting on someone, and generally taking care of someone. This is something I completely didn't expect. I certainly knew that I would get a sense of satisfaction from cleaning up the house --- that was always true for me --- but I never figured on how good it would feel to be the head of household, around the house. Perhaps Tip's quote should be rearranged to "Once in a while I like to do a little cooking, to remind myself how satisfying domestic caretaking is."
Still, these observations are all based on nothing more than six weeks on the job --- and a sense that things will be reconfigured again when SJC isn't sick, or after the baby comes, or whenever. I certainly have grown to appreciate how never-ending domestic work is, and that can be depressing at times. And I have an incredibly appreciate wife; for the first time over the past few weeks I realized why so many wives/moms get upset when people don't like what they made for dinner. Perhaps I'm just in a honeymoon phase with all of this, but right now I'm pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it has been.
That said, I did register a moment of shock when we were out talking to our neighbors today and Sarah mentioned how I was doing so much work around the house since she had been sick. They responded with a knowing smile and a "Well, just wait till the baby comes, then the father's real work begins."
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