Week 4: Blog 2

Chapter 7: Second Shift

To me, this is a concept that shouldn't need to be a concept. How many generations will it take for men and women to view family/household responsibilities as SHARED responsibilities? My parents showed me this by example; I saw them both do every household task from laundry to making dinner to reading bedtime stories throughout my childhood.

I recently had a conversation with my mom where we were recalling those years, and we discussed how they made a point to not thank each other for doing a household task. Instead they would express a compliment or appreciation for a job well done, but never a thank you. To my mom especially, saying thank you to my dad for doing a chore implied that he was doing it for her, as in doing her a favor. So, in order to prevent either one of them from feeling like any one particular chore was their sole responsibility, they did not say thank you. Alternatively, and to this day, they just express their appreciation for the other's hard work and commitment to their shared responsibilities.