MANY years ago, a friend of mine who was planning to get married sat with me one evening and discussed the kind of wife he would like to have. “She should be a working woman,” he said very definitely. “Why?” I asked, “I’m sure you’re doing well, why do you need her to go out and work?”
“For her sake,” he said. “And how’s that?” “I don’t want her bored at home doing nothing!” Ah my dear friend, ‘bored at home, doing nothing?’ Here’s a story for you: A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife’s car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into his house, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the carpet was piled against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and in the family room was strewn toys and various items of clothing.
He walked astonished into the kitchen, to find dishes filled the sink, breakfast food spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food on the floor, a broken glass lying under the table, and a small pile of sand spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife.
He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside, he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, “What happened here today?” She again smiled and answered, “You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me, “What in the world did you do today?” “Yes,” was his incredulous reply. She answered, “Well, today darlin’ I didn’t!”
What fools we men are to think that while we are out working, our homes go on automatically; that beds are made, clothes washed, children sent to school, and taught and scrubbed and cleaned by some magic wand. I’ve seen shipys or men working abroad coming home to put their homes in order only to find their homes in better order than their ships! Maybe we all need to come home one day and find her curled up in bed with a book and a smile saying, “Today darlin’ I didn’t..!”
