A Day Without The Woman Of The House! What Would That be Like?

A witty account of how everything comes to a standstill, if the woman of the house takes a day off. It is time we give the stay at home mothers due respect.

It is not uncommon to hear men question stay at home mothers saying “What do you do the whole day”?

So, if going out to work and contributing financially receives far more respect and appreciation vis-à-vis staying just at home and managing it, why don’t all those men who utter these sentences often to their wives and the mothers of their children, sit back and imagine a day without the woman of the house?

It is my tribute to all those mothers who manage their houses with great ease and perfection and are perhaps, hardly credited for their significant role.

Hey there! It’s morning again.

The morning bed tea is is awaited. The milk packets are lying unattended outside the door. Ah! Is there no one to boil them? The newspaper is looking for someone to pick it up. The garbage guy rang the bell, but no one replied. The vegetable vendor too waited in vain.

The kitchen wears a deserted look. The utensils are lying bare, waiting to be cleaned and bathed in water for a fresh look. Yesterday’s milk is lying in the fridge. The quintessential ‘malai’  is waiting to be transferred to its respective container and the rest of the milk is waiting to be curdled. The RO hasn’t been switched on, the water bottles are empty.

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The vegetables are waiting to be chopped, cooked and disposed off into the lunch boxes. The eggs, oats and the butter toast are waiting to be consumed as the first meal of the day. Oh, yes I mean the breakfast.

What is it with the rooms? The blankets haven’t been folded; the bed sheets haven’t been reset. The cushions are lying on the floor and the pillows on the couch look like orphans. The side tables haven’t been cleared yet. An unfinished glass of water, a hand towel, the phone chargers, keys, remotes, all lie haywire.

The dust is resting peacefully on the furniture, curtains and on the doors and windows. Won’t it be wiped? The rooms need to be cleaned. The broom it seems has an off today, laying comfortably in the backyard and so does the mop. It appears to smile because it might not be squeezed today. It is his dry day.

The plants too might have a dry day with no one to water them. The presswala will leave without the potli of clothes to be ironed. Is there no one to hand over the clothes to him? The dirty clothes might go through the same fate. They might not get a chance to swing in their favorite washing machine. It’s their off too I guess. So, they will be lying clustered in their smelly laundry basket. Poor clothes!

Who will fetch the kids from the school bus stop? Who will feed them? Who will get their homework and projects done? Who will take them for their tuition and activity classes?

No lunch and no dinner….what’s wrong with the house today?

Oh! I see. It’s just a day without the woman of the house .

Things are lying unattended, here and there, the household chores unfinished. There is no one to cater to every nook and corner of the house. There is no one to attend to the man of the house and no one to look after the children.

And then you question the woman of the house, “What do you do all day”?

Image Source: Pixabay

First published here.

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