Oh wideblue...I hate to do it but I have to comment on your thoughts for they are the thoughts that lead to trouble.
Though I understand the "ozzie and harriet" concept it just doesn't jive.
Quote: It doesn’t mean that I value my job more than I value my family. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. By being good at my job, I’m better able to be a good husband, a good father, a good “man”.
oh dear! Sure being good at your job can do those things but not when being good at your job means you've got time for little else. Financial security is a wonderful thing but when it's there the other things don't just get taken care of by default. It is one thing to work hard to provide as a means of being a good husband but it's another to claim that your a good husband by providing...especially if in order to provide you are removed from the family.
Quote: I hope this doesn’t come off as sexist, but there’s been some recent discussion about the bond between a mother and her children. So tell me, as a mother, would you rather spend quality time playing with your small children, or wash the dishes, do the laundry, and clean the bathrooms? So why do you take time from your kids to do the dishes and the laundry and clean the bathrooms? Easy. Because it has to be done. Would you rather spend time with your teenagers playing board games, talking about the things going on in their lives, watching TV together – or would you rather spend your time nagging them to clean their rooms and do their homework while you continue with the cooking, laundry, and bathrooms? Sadly, their rooms need cleaning, their homework needs to be done, if nobody cooks you’ll all starve, the laundry won’t do itself, and the bathrooms can become a health hazard. The teenagers don’t have the initiative to do any of those things by themselves – so you do it.
Not sexist at all just a bit ignorant. If things need doing I'll do them but not at the expense of my childrens emotional or physical needs. I'll find the time to do the things that need doing AFTER the more imporant things. I'd rather happy healthy children than a sparkling house full of gormet eating ones. (now that doesn't mean we eat junk we just find another way to eat healthy home cook meals without needing to be removed from those I cook them for. The house may not sparkle but it's clean and besides I've heard that keeping your house too clean isn't all that good for the imune system anyway )
What it comes down to is BALANCE! being a good husband is more than paying the bills and cutting the lawn just like being a good wife is more than cleaning, cooking and doing the laundry.
I'm obviously letting a bit of my own sit shine through here but it's clear I'm not the only one living in this false reality.
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