In our household, my husband does all of the heavy cooking. He is responsible for meal planning, buying the meat, and executing dinner. While we both grew up in traditional households where the husband mowed the yard and fixed things while the wife cooked every meal and took care of the cleaning, that is not what works in our house. Who really has a “traditional” household anyway these days?!?! When my husband and I moved in together, he was passionate about cooking. Meanwhile, I survived college on pizza rolls and fast food. Very quickly we realized that we would both be better off if cooking was his duty.
We split up the grocery duties as well. I am responsible for household essentials, the kids’ snacks, and produce. He buys the meat and any other specific ingredients for what he’s cooking that week. To be honest, I have no clue what I’m doing in the meat department of the grocery. I have never bought steaks, pork chops, or even chicken breasts without having to call him.
He cooks and cleans the kitchen, but I clean everything else. I gladly do all the laundry and deep cleaning so that I don’t have to make dinner. Honestly, I would scrub toilets and wipe baseboards every single day as long as it keeps me out of the kitchen. The kids will always have a clean toilet seat to sit on and fresh underwear in their drawers. My husband does not have to worry about dusting or ironing his own clothes, as he long as he keeps us fed.
Do I wish cooking was my thing? Yes, sometimes I do. At the end of the day I am not good at it, and I don’t have to passion to be. I may not be the one slaving over a hot stove and serving my family a nutritious meal at the end of each day. However, I care for them in many other ways.
