Returning the Favor
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 6:52AM Yeah, I just got back from a dude weekend. It’s true.
I hopped a flight to North Carolina leaving my sweet, innocent wife alone for three days with a five and seven-year-old, while I hung out with two old-school college buddies at a lake-front log cabin.
We drank beer and good wine without a care in the world, while the wife frantically sucked back leftovers from the kids’ plates, forgot where she put her wine glass, and was woken up throughout the night by the kids during thunderstorms.
I won’t lie…there was guilt. I’d call and hear the exasperation in her voice.
She’d say: “That’s awesome you guys did so well at the 10k trail race.”
What I’d hear is: “Run it again only this time fall off a cliff you dead-beat dad!”
She’d say: “That sounds like you had a really cool day!”
What I’d hear is: “I’m putting eye drops in all your drinks for the rest of the week when you get back, punk-ass!”
I’ll definitely spend the next few weeks trying to make it up to her in little ways. Girls’ night out, a night alone without kids or me, or a night of letting her watch me try on various Speedo bathing suits.
I think back to how far we’ve come as men. Back in the day the men-folk would spend their weekends golfing, playing poker, and shooting the shit in their garages with other neighborhood dudes. The wives would shuttle the kids to the pool or their parent’s house to make sure the husband was relaxed on his two days off from work.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to parties these days where the stay-at-home moms declare to the men “kids are yours, we’ll be in the house relaxing,” and then disappear never to be seen again.
For so many reasons I’m OK with that. I think most guys are OK with that. Because today it’s understood that whether a woman is a stay-at-home mom, or successful executive – they’re working and deserve down-time too.
Let’s look at stay-at-home parents in comparison to those working and you’ll see my point!
Stay at Home Parents Work
Mind-numbing requests from uneducated,
immature humans daily X
Continuously fighting to have peace while you eat X
Endlessly plotting against the person that got you
into this position X
Faking optimum productivity & interest when
others are watching X
Constantly motivated to slam your head against a wall X
I think you see what I mean.
So yeah, I’m grateful my wife threw herself on the tracks for three days so I could dude-it-up. I’m thankful more than she knows. And that’s why I’ll have no problem at all making damn sure I return the favor.
And, it’s in everyone’s best interest that I do it quickly.