Sharing the Load in Marriage

Summer is here, and that means.... YARD WORK! 

We have almost an acre of land at our house, most of which is in the backyard. Doing yard work is a task that can take over three hours if Howell does it alone.

So I help. If I mow while he weed-eats and edges, we usually finish at about the same time—in less than half the time it takes him to do it alone.

I really don’t mind. Mowing is relaxing to me—and riding on the mower is fun.

Rizzoli doesn't like the mower :) 

I was recently talking with a couple women about yard work and found that all of us liked to mow our yard, but one woman said her husband had been criticized for “making” his wife mow.

I told Howell that story later, and he said he’d been criticized for the same thing when people drive by and see me mowing.

My jaw dropped. I had no idea!

Maybe we’re not normal, but it works for us, and in my mind, it’s just one of the many shared responsibilities we have—like laundry and cleaning house.

I had a shower at my house the other day (btw, there’s nothing like hosting a shower to give you every re-arranging, hanging, and decorating itch you can imagine). After Howell helped me hang stuff on the walls and re-arrange rooms, he swept and vacuumed while I made sausage balls.

Could I have done both? Sure—but it saved me so much time that he was willing to do that for me.

I’m not saying all wives should mow or that husbands should all clean house, but I think couples should find what works for them—ways that they can share the load, be more efficient, and in the end, create more time together.

If I help with yard work every week, that’s an extra hour and a half that Howell and I get to spend together, taking a walk or watching a show.

That sounds like a no-brainer in my book!

Married friends, do you share the load in your house? What’re some household chores that you both do?