Sick of arguing about work vs housework and who contributes the most to their domestic bliss, a friend of mine and her husband recently spent a weekend devising a scorecard.
Not that they intended spending a whole weekend on the project. Initially it started as a few laughs over dinner. But the ensuing argument, sorry ‘discussion’, became rather heated.
“He wanted more points per hour for work because he earns more,” said my colleague. “So I gave him that. I even gave him big points for taking out the rubbish. A load of washing was two points through the machine and five to hang out.”
The idea was at the end of a week someone would be in front on points and get some time off and someone would be behind and have to catch up.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Apparently it was all going well, working their way through the yard work, kitchen, laundry and parenting duties. But then they reached that other workhorse room of the house: the bedroom. This was where they nearly came to blows and the ‘discussion’, sorry argument, went from post dinner drinks to all weekend seminar.
“I insisted if I instigate sex he gets five points, but if he instigates sex no points are scored by either party. I argued if I don’t instigate it, I probably don’t want to do it, so therefore it’s a lot like work.”
“Then I’d have gone the other way,” I told her. “If he instigates sex you get five points.”
“Ah, but I figured this way he’d be more romantic and give me flowers because he’d be trying to make me feel amorous.”
“How’d that work out?”
“Let’s just say he hangs out the washing more these days.”
And she’s seeing that as a win, thank you very much.
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