I'm a House Husband. Are You?

Well it’s Friday (or it was when I originally wrote this) and I have spent a large portion of my day doing chores and I couldn’t help but notice how my approach to each of my days has changed since I moved to London. And with those changes I feel I can truly say I have changed from a husband with no job living in this house to a genuine house husband who is actually trying to take care of the house.

Now while I say this humorously I also say it truthfully.

Only two months ago I wouldn’t have called myself a house husband but now I would. So what actually changed? I’m not fully sure but here is a small list of things that may be ways to tell if you are a house husband or just a man with no job.

-If you start to associate each day more with the various chores that you have to do on that day such as thinking of Friday as laundry day rather than by activities you do or want to do on that day than you might be a house husband.

-If you know exactly how to fold your wife’s underwear and bras you could be a house husband

-If you try and do small things for your wife before she asks, like dust the shelves or vacuum the floors, so that you can get credit for doing work without working too hard than maybe you are a house husband

-If you light candles or incense shortly before your wife gets home so that the house smells cleaner than it actually is you may be a house husband.

-If you “accidently” leave proof of doing chores (like leaving the broom out or keeping the window cleaner next to the windows you cleaned) so that your wife will noticed the work you did without you having to tell her you might be a house husband. This way you don’t feel like you are bragging but you still score brownie points for what you did.

-If you strategically time to do certain chores so that your wife will catch you doing them when she comes home, like waiting all day to do the dishes, than you could be a house husband.

-If you have enough foresight to do certain chores on certain days in order to reduce how often you need to do them or in order for your wife to see a certain room at its best when she will be around it the most than you might be a house husband…or just smart.

-If you make sure that your wife’s cat is curled up next to you and that you’re petting it when she comes home from work you might be a house husband.

-If you wait to make the bed until 30 minutes before your wife gets home so that you can read a book, watch some TV or take a nap in bed and not have to remake it than you might be a house husband. Further when she sees the bed it will look like you just made it…because you have, in fact, just made it.

-If you ask your wife how her day at work was and are genuinely interested in her answer while also a little sad/embarrassed knowing that you have no stories to tell about your day than you might be a house husband.

 

-If when your wife gets home you just want her to tell you how nice you look and hope that she has brought you a small present than you might be a house husband.

-If at the end of the week you want your wife to offer to take you out to dinner and a movie just so you can get out of the house than you might be a house husband.

-And perhaps more than any of the other things on this list if you start doing chores because you actually think they need to be done rather than your wife asking you to do them or to score brownie points then you are most likely a house husband.

And yes I have done or felt all things on this list at least once.

Feel free to add and share your own ideas.

This post really is more for the laughs but now let me be serious for a minute. My life here in London isn’t all about me doing chores or housekeeping. In fact despite how this post might make it sound the amount of time I spend on chores or housework is a fairly small percentage of my day unless I leave it all for one day, which I no longer do. Also I really do enjoy taking care of the house when I can in that it gives me a way to feel like I am doing something concrete that helps Priya (my wife) by giving her a nice, clean place to live and saving her time so she doesn’t have to do the chores herself. Trust me she would gladly do the chores herself and she doesn’t pressure me to do them but I know anytime she’s doing the chores that’s time she could be spending with me so it makes way more sense for me to do them while she is at work so we can get all the time we can together. Really this post was just for smiles and laughs hopefully you had some.