I have never been one of those good wives who takes care of her man.
I don’t know how to sew on a button (I am NOT kidding. Stop laughing.) I can iron, but only under duress (ie, a wedding). I don’t iron Paul’s shirts.
I do make dinner, so I think I get some brownie points.
But I have friends who have been making breakfast for their hubbies since the wedding day. Me? Not so much.
I figure that I married a perfectly capable and able man. He can make his own coffee and toast. Especially since I have been leaving the house before him for the past 20 plus years.
And I haven’t ever gotten into “making lunch”.
I mean, I guess when my oldest was little, I’d probably make sandwiches or soup or something. But my kids have been packing their own lunches since they were in second grade. I used to have a section of the cabinet marked “school snacks”. They were supposed to pick what they wanted and put it into the lunchbox.
I figured that my job was done when I bought the stuff, right?
Well.
Now that the kids have all grown up and gone away, I find myself suddenly interested in making lunches.
I have been packing super healthy foods for myself for every school day. Kale shakes (no, I am NOT kidding), yogurt, veggie wraps.
So it wasn’t too much of a stretch for me to take on Paul’s lunch most nights. I get out the wraps, the cold cuts, the cheese, the veggies, the mustard or french dressing, and I make the neatest, firmest, most packed wrap the world has ever seen. I put it in his lunchbox, with some fruit and some juice and maybe a cookie or two.
And it is only once in a while that I ask myself, “What the hell?”
Sigh.
There seem to be some unexpected benefits to the proverbial “empty nest”. And most of them are going to my husband.
Empty Nest, Full Life 
We are programmed to “care”. Our husbands/partners are lucky!
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He certainly would agree with you!
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I can’t even imagine what life will be like when the kids grow up… but I’m assuming, I’ll be taking better care of my husband at that point too.
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Its a funny little benefit, I guess, to reaching the empty nest time of life.
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Too funny!! I think we may have the same “wife style”…I’m all about my husband being capable. One more kid to go before I hit full on empty nest…we shall see. Great post!
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Thanks!
Watch and see if you suddenly start ironing his shirts……
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Oh dear lord. Hopefully ours will work the other way around!!
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My husband sews on the buttons, irons his clothes, and makes the kids’ lunches. If I start doing any of those things when the nest is empty, he won’t know what to do!
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I agree with Tric (where I followed you over from). I think we’re programmed to care too. My husband gets spoiled, with lunches and his clothes ironed. What’s interesting is that he hasn’t caught on yet (or would rather not admit it) that most of the clothes I iron end up destroyed over time. I’m lousy at ironing.
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Oh, man, me too!!! When the kids were little, I “ironed” by hanging things in the bathroom and letting the shower steam do its job.
Have you discovered the miracle of “Downy Spray”? You spritz it on and voila! No wrinkles.
That’s when I go make a giant healthy veggie wrap for his lunch……..
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I’m noticing the same thing. In fact, I have to be careful because I reason that since I’m retired and home (writing) perhaps I should be doing more, and before you know it my writing time is gone up in smoke.
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Its a slippery slope that we are on, my friend! The other day I found myself folding and matching Paul’s socks.
Seriously?
And I’m not even retired yet! Man, I need a grandchild or three!
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