Househusband

I’m experiencing something new. My dear spouse is working two part-time jobs this summer equaling full-time employment. I am in that wonderful envelope of the academic year when I still get paychecks but have several summer months of freedom. We have been quite mobile during our 25 years of marriage and my wife has born the lion’s share of the burden of packing, unpacking, and getting resettled in each new place. This time it was different. We had more time than usual for the actual moving so in lieu of the usual rental of a big truck, I transported our junk across town in our SUV with a trailer in tow. A few friends dropped in to help along the way but most of it I did alone. And, as it was only reasonable since she was working and I was off, I did most of the unpacking and getting us settled in the apartment. A couple of days ago I hit a major milestone – I got the last box unpacked. Well, there are still a few boxes, but they are out of sight and we aren’t tripping over them. Yesterday I hung mirrors and a key rack on the walls, fixed a couple of broken lamps and a figurine that was a casualty of the move. Some cabinet door handles that were purchased before we moved to our last house five years ago finally got installed yesterday. And several evenings I’ve had dinner on the table when my weary woman came through the door ready to collapse. Day before yesterday I took on a little project with the goal of having it done by the time she came home. I built a shelf unit that goes around and over the toilet in our tiny bathroom, claiming precious utility from the wasted space above the tank. I bought the materials, cut and assembled the parts, got two coats of paint on it and had it in place in time to surprise her. It didn’t turn out as perfect as I would have liked, but, hey, there’s a lot to do around a household and, dang it, I got the sucker done. I’m finding myself puttering in the kitchen, a little obsessive about keeping the sink cleaned out and getting dishes and pans into the dishwasher. It’s amazing how fast a day can go by when you really get domestic. It’s a good lesson for me.

Today I have to see about a car repair and some other manly pursuits. Need some motorcycle tires and to find a printer driver for my daughter’s new windfall, an HP Designjet large format printer that one of her bosses gave her after upgrading to a newer one. The kind of chores I’m more accustomed to. But I hope I can keep some of this mother hen vibe going after I’m back into my busy school year routine. I love making my wife happy and being domestic seems to have the desired effect. Okay, gotta get off this computer and get a load of laundry going.