Housewife seeking appreciation quits housework

CNN.Com (AP) ^ | Saturday, October 5, 2002 Posted: 11:38 AM EDT (1538 GMT) | Associated Press

[pubmom]

A very sensible suggestion!

[goodieD]

I'd be willing to bet her hubby would rather have her home instead of doing a halfway job on the house and kids.

[BillaryBeGone]

I tried this approach once with my swine-of-an-ex. I was working 40+ hrs/week. He was newly retired. He ignored everything - dishes, laundry, dust, the yard, you name it. So, I can understand her frustration, given the right circumstances.

Oh, yeah. It didn't work. I just had that much more to do when I finally surrendered.

[phil1750]

Stay-at-home moms should do most of the house work. My wife works outside the home (schoolteacher) so I do laundry (some of it), most of the cooking, all of the kitchen cleaning, and all outside maintence ie: yard work.

[riri]

My mother did this two decades ago. She actually went so far as to pack a bag and leave for about a week.

Funnt thing is, my then college age brother stepped in and resumed her duties. I remember him cutting coupons and grocery shopping. He was quite the disciplinarian too, I might add.

He was running a pretty tight ship then Mom came back...

[JaimeD2]

It sounds to me like you need a lesson in respect. If you had bothered to read the article, you'd have realized that the woman holds an outside job, brings in some of the money, and just wants her husband to show that her efforts are appreciated. Yet you say that she's neglecting her "wifely duties." Let me tell you something: you can't project wifely duty onto any wife that isn't your own. And I can't imagine many women would want to marry someone with such attitudes.

Look at the number of men here who are coming down on the woman's side. To respect women and to give them their proper due is not some liberal notion; who did Jesus say was better, Martha or Mary?

[Fraulein]

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T
You better know what it means to me....
All I want is a little respect when you come home..."

[Mark Turbo]

Newsflash ... housework isn't that hard. Every man who has lived by himself realizes this; they are just forbidden from mentioning it. Push a vacuum every couple of days, laundry ... how long does it take? Maybe 4 hours a week? Cooking ... maybe 15 min prep, and 30 min cleanup. Let's contrast this to the typical 40+ hr workweek.

I'm there, doing that, and about to buy the T-shirt. My place isn't exactly in the running for a Better Homes and Gardens shoot, but I don't have to come home and listen to anyone complain about my efforts. Mark this thread as Reason #23489 not to rush to the altar.

[MissAmericanPie]

I must be so warped, psssst don't tell anybody, I don't mind cleaning, it's a love thing. I like that my family reaches into their closet and always finds what they want to wear, clean and hung up, their socks clean and rolled in neat drawers. I love when they go back for that second or third helping of mashed potatos, get full and sleepy and crawl between fresh clean sheets, loved and cared for.

I just spent most of the morning helping hubby paint his new deer blind that is sitting on a trailer out in the driveway. I wrap them in love in everyway I can think of, do they notice, yes, I'm Mom and Honey, and the thing I'm most afraid of is that it doesn't last nearly long enough.

[goodieD]

sure..it's ALWAYS the man's fault right? Thank you women's movement..you've given us a culture where it's perfectly alright to despise men, but say a bad word against a "perfect" woman and you're a misogynist...try again.

[ErnBatavia]

[goodieD]

Women have no business working outside the home. Sounds like you need a lesson in the Bible honey.

[SamAdams76]

There is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Either this is a "Ricki Lake Nation" ploy to get some publicity (and cash) and the husband is in on it, or this couple is headed for a speedy divorce.

If it is the former, shame on the both of them. If that latter, if the wife has problems with her husband, she should deal with it privately. Hanging a gaudy "Wife on Strike" sign in the front yard and yakking about her domestic problems with reporters is a bit much. If my wife ever tried that kind of public humiliation thing with me (justified or not), I'd be packed up and gone for good by the time the paint on the sign was dry.

[goodieD]

The number of men who are on this woman's side just shows me that the women's movement have done their job in spades..we now have a culture of bitchy, mouthy, women and wussy men. And such a wonderful society it is... abortion on demand, a 2nd amendment that's been wittled to nothing by stupid frightenend women, and men afraid to fight back if a woman takes off with the kids because she doesn't feel "appreciated"... yeah.. women are great..and YES, I am one who knows her place. I am proud for NOT contributing to the downfall of society.

[JaimeD2]

You didn't answer my question.