Wo(Man) of the house

To date, as a wife and mom I've done countless cooking for the boys, family and friends; clothes washing and folding; kids' nose-picking and dirty nappy changing; floor mopping; and clothes sewing. These are the jobs that are automatically imposed on me, and I've got my and your ancestors to blame for this. But I do these jobs not because I should do it, but because I think I do them better (and usually because I'm more willing to) than my husband. So, once in a while I feel like I have to get out of this stereotypical mold, and there's nothing else that gets me more high than doing something that the man-of-the-house ought to be doing, like the plumbing, painting, carpentry, etc.

I love doing those unusual tasks, and I must admit I'm not always successful at it. Notice when the christmas lights won't work because one of the 1000's of bulbs blew? When I was younger, I fixed ours by cutting off the faulty bulbs and taping the cut wires together. Oh, it worked for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th bulb that didn't work....until it caused a short circuit and it sparked when I plugged it in! (Warning:Do not attempt this stunt at home!)

For years we lived without locking our sliding door with a key, but I thought this time I'd do something about it. A locksmith said it will cost over a hundred dollars, unless I bring the lock to him and he'll make a key for less the cost. I thought to myself, "How on earth will I dismantle the whole big sliding door and pack it in our car?" Later it dawned to me that he said, "lock" and not "door" *slapping forehead*. So, armed with a screwdriver, I easily managed to remove the barrel lock/key section (i.e. silver bottom-most part). But be warned: never, ever, ever slam the door shut and switch the manual locks to position (i.e. the 2 above it) when the lock/key system is removed because our door got stuck locked! Doomed, I thought, I can never get the manual switches to move....but with luck I manage to 'unlock' it by fiddling with the mechanisms inside. Phew! I just saved myself a locksmith's call out fee to open the door I locked and to remove the barrel lock and I' m soooo happy!

Sorry to sound so feminist and if I have offended some men, but us women should believe that we can do anything men can do. This is because it's innate in us (wo + man). Most men I know unfortunately struggles to do some of women's businesses, hence probably why we salute people like Jamie O. and Rocco D. when they show us they too can cook! (PS. Most good chefs are men, why is that?)