The Power of Folding Pants

Here is my confession: I hate doing housework.

I know that you’re thinking, “Who doesn’t?”, but I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much I actually despise it. I hate dishes. I hate laundry. I hate vacuuming. I hate it ALL.

I blame my mother. My mom was the mom/wife of the year for almost 26 years running (my 26th birthday is on March 5th). I never once saw our home looking trashed or dirty even though I can still hear her voice in my head when she said, “I don’t want us to live in filth and squalor.” That particular day, I picked my socks up off the ground and all was well again.

I never wanted to take care of anything of the sorts even though I feel so much better when it’s done.

Recently, I began a new relationship. He is older than me and is a complete neat freak. It’s safe to say that I absolutely adore love him. He is very caring, sweet, and calm. He is everything that my previous boyfriends weren’t. And maybe that’s why I feel myself changing.

I noticed it as we were setting up for a Superbowl party. He just got done with working a 12 hour shift and still needed to go to the grocery store, dust the house, clean his bedroom, fold his laundry, clean the bathroom, shower, eat, and sleep so he could be ready at 6:30 the next morning for another 12 hour shift. I looked at the clock that read 8:32pm and couldn’t figure out when he would have time to accomplish all of that. Then, I uttered words that I never ever thought I’d ever say.

“Why don’t you start with a shower and I’ll take care of the other things.”

First of all, he wouldn’t let me go to the grocery store which is probably a great idea as I get lost and distracted very easily there. Next, WHAT!?!?

I stood there, trying to figure out if I really just said what I think I said. Did I really just say that I would do things such as dust the house?! (I should also add that this house is not mine or his so I really get no benefit of it.) I just volunteered like Katniss Everdeen and didn’t even think twice.

Was I growing up? Is this when I start to really make some changes in my life and start to become the doting lady who keeps a perfect home? My sink full of dishes says otherwise. I think it’s more than that.

My boyfriend works so hard. He is a wonderful sidekick. He is a great friend, a perfect timed joke when I’ve had a bad day, and the only one I want to share a dinner with. I truly care about this person, so I WANT to care FOR this person. LIGHTBULB.

Everything made sense now. When I was younger, I was involved in everything, and I mean everything. I would have practice after a full day of school and then I would have hours of homework. At some point, I needed to sleep and eat. My mom cared about me so deeply that she wanted me to be able to take care of myself, so she did all of the laundry, the cooking, and the cleaning for me. She knew that I had a lot on my plate, so she eased the weight of it all by taking the things off that she could and leaving me with the necessities of my life at the time. What an incredible woman!

As I woke up to my boyfriend’s alarm, he rolled over and said, “Go back to sleep for 20 minutes. I’ll be back up to kiss you goodbye.” I closed my eyes and just thought. I thought about him. I thought about his work and thought about how he won’t even be able to enjoy half of the party because he’ll be working for most of it. I thought about how tired he probably was and how he felt like he still had so much to do. So in twenty minutes, he kissed me goodbye. He asked why I didn’t go back to sleep and I told him that I wasn’t tired while yawning. Rookie mistake. He of course laughed at me for that. I started getting dressed and as I heard the door shut, I looked over to his closet. There was a laundry basket full of clean clothes and another big pile next to it waiting to be folded. I could leave it, but instead, I picked up a t-shirt. It was one that he wore a lot. It smelled fresh. It smelled like him. I put it on a hanger. I continued until the basket was empty and started on the next pile. I folded pajama pants, socks, and even his underwear (and first in our relationship). And it was done. All of it. I put everything away and made his bed and just as I was walking out of his room, the incoming message tone sounded on my phone. It read, “Thanks for all your help last night and today love you babe.”

And just like that, the things I did for him don’t seem like they were a hassle at all. I’m so blessed to have a man in my life that appreciates the little things. I’m happy to have someone who takes the extra 30 seconds to send me a message thanking me. I’m grateful that I have the ability to care for someone and make the weight of the day a little lighter. And I’m thankful that I had a mother that taught me that caring for someone is one of the greatest things you will ever do in your life.

Maybe I’ll do some of my own housework today…