There are many times when I look at my tired husband,  road weary from frequent business travel, and I wish there were more ways in which I could share his burden.  When I tell him this he always tells me, “You do share the burden. I could never have started this business by myself without you. Knowing you are there to help and to take care of our children gives me comfort and peace of mind.”

It is rewarding to know that I am appreciated in this way not just because of the work I do for the business, but for the work I do at home. A few weeks ago we had company visiting from out of town and Paul in preparation for our guests, stripped the beds and did all the laundry; something he rarely, if ever, does. I was surprised when I arrived home and heard the washer chugging along and asked, “Who’s doing laundry?” since I’m the only one who usually does it.

Later, when we were back to our usual routine, Paul said to me, “Remember the other day when I was doing the laundry? That brought back a lot of memories for me from when I was a single dad and I had to do all the laundry myself.  I am so grateful to you that you do it so I don’t have to. (I have very clear memories of our courtship days when I would visit him and there would be mounds of clean laundry piled in baskets throughout the house and I would always wonder, “Does this stuff ever get folded and put away?”)

Paul and I have, for the most part, divided up the household chores according to what we enjoy or don’t mind doing.  I enjoy cooking so I usually prepare meals and he cleans up the kitchen.  Plants usually die in my presence so I avoid yard work. Since Paul does a terrible job with the laundry,  I have rescued him from that responsibility. Laundry  has traditionally been regarded as a woman’s job and men often take it for granted that the wife will do it, but not Paul. He was a single dad for years so he knows how hard it is to do everything yourself. Paul told me on our first date that when you work as team you get twice as much done in half the time. So true.