As Immature As I Am

I found out today that the division of labour between man and woman isn’t equal.

Those that know me might think that I would come out swinging on the side of men and how hard that they work to keep a family together. There are no breaks and the stress of knowing that you must provide for this family, come hell or high water, until you die is enough to break the best of us. I know, I know, women are equally hard working when it comes to providing for a family in this day and age, plus all of the other duties that they do so well. It is just that as a man I can appreciate a subtle difference.

I spent today looking after my grandsons, and all in all we had a good time. I am a little worn out, but I think that if I were in a situation that I had to do this on a daily basis, I would rise to the occasion and do a good job. Oh, make no mistake about it, after a few months my mind will have taken on the consistency and intellect of tapioca pudding. Ladies, my hat is off to you! There are people that choose child rearing as an occupation which I find...ahhhh...nuts!

It is one thing when you are related to the little darlings and have familial love to stay your hand, but I know there is no amount of money that would make me even consider it. Mind you, the same goes for nursing, proctology, dentistry, roofing, any kind of physical labour, spider wrangling, “honey wagon” driver or middle school teacher. Come to think of it, I am hard pressed to think of an occupation that I would like. A few days here or there is fun and I look forward to the experience. Ewan, Cohen and I had a blast today doing and eating things that are kind of forbidden by any sane parent. I gave them a ride in the dryer, we ate food that is bad but good, watched TV and movies, bounced on beds and made a mess in our diaper. Well, one of us did.

I get to do it again tomorrow and will be a little more prepared. You see, normally Louise is with me when we look after the grandkids and it is two against two which is a fair fight. I believe you can do anything if you are put in a situation which requires you to succeed. I was once conned into co-ordinating girl’s soccer in our area which involved phoning hundreds of people, grading and placing the players in the proper division. I hated talking on the phone, and knew virtually nothing about soccer. I survived and believe that I left the program in better shape than when I took over. Of course everything changed back to the way it was the year after I left. You can only do what you think is right.

So, with any luck, the sun will shine tomorrow and the kids will come down with some 24 hour sleeping sickness. If not, I have DVD’s, a wagon and a bike, sugar cereal and chocolate, lots of toys and the attitude “That no matter what I do, the kids will still love me even though their mom won’t talk to me again”. She already mentioned that a dryer isn’t the ideal children’s toy. What does she know? She isn’t a kid or nearly as immature as I am...