A Good Wife

Luisa started a new job right after Christmas. She won't be traveling anymore which is great for her and great for our family. Our schedules will be predictable and I won't be left to hold everything together by myself while she's gone for work.

Of course, the down side is that I won't be left to hold everything together by myself while she's gone for work. I know you're thinking, "Wha?" Yes, you are so dumbfounded by my statement that you didn't even put the "t" on the "what" in your thoughts.

Let me explain. After quitting my job, I thought of those long stretches of solo parenting as me doing my part for the family. I felt it created balance in our relationship. When Luisa was home, she did the laundry and the grocery shopping and drove the kids to soccer. What did I do? I couldn't say for sure BUT every month or so, I did EVERYTHING for a week or two. Surely everything evened out, right?

Well, now that she's home and I don't do those solo stretches, I started to feel like a kept woman. I have nothing against being a kept woman in theory but in practice, it's a little rough on my ego. So, I decided that I would up my wife game. That's right - I decided I would strive to be a Good Wife, even though I am still not sold on the word "wife." 

I started washing the towels and sheets during the day. I even offered to do the laundry (when she didn't have time to do it on the weekends). I grocery shopped on occasion. Whenever she said, "You don't have to do that," I'd say, "I'm trying to be a better wife!" And then we'd both laugh because we both know I'm a princess.

Then, I decided that I would dazzle her with the extraordinary! One day while she was at work, I decided to replace the shower head with a water-saving one that had been sitting in a box for weeks. Who doesn't want a wife that cares about lower monthly water bills and saving the earth? I replaced it and it still worked! High from that victory, I decided I would teach myself to make baguettes from scratch! I killed my first batch of yeast but I was undeterred and went to the store and got more. I made two beautiful loaves of bread! I sent her a picture of the shower head and the bread with the caption, "Get yourself a wife who can do both."

Let's not focus on the fact when she got home, we found a leak in the bathroom that took an entire afternoon for us to repair or that the beautiful "baguettes" could have been used to play cricket. Let's focus on me wifing! I'm washing towels as I write this. I'm also dying of apple cider vinegar fumes because I decided to clean the microwave to absolve my guilt for refusing to go to the store to get a jalapeño for tonight's dinner. I know you're thinking, "Why apple cider vinegar, Vikki?" Well, there is a microwave cleaning trick that involves diluted vinegar but I didn't have any so I went with the apple cider vinegar. I am nothing if not a resourceful wife! Ignore the fact that the house now smells like what can only be described as Incontinence at the Apple Orchard. 

Who's the BEST. WIFE. EVER?