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Chores "distribution"
I was catching up on some old newsletters in my email and went back to an article about how couples with ADHD (any combo) handle household chores and other daily-life tasks. I have to admit that is one area that is ruining my relationship, at least as far as I'm concerned.
I'm the non-ADHD spouse and my husband does absolutely almost no housework. I make every single meal we eat, and since he hates restaurants, well, you do the math. I literally cry in the kitchen some times and can't believe I haven't burned it to the ground yet. I despise cooking and most other chores really. But after ten years of doing every single load of dishes and laundry, I think most people would hate housework with a passion.
It is really hard not to resent him, and there is no excuse really for him not to help out. I let it happen mostly because I don't want to hear him bitch and complain about 1. the task and doing the work, and 2. something that I've done to make the work harder. But you know what? He bitches and complains no matter what. He even complained about the smell of the litter while I was cleaning it out today (another task he has never done).
So I am on a mission to change this scenario around this summer, while his work load is minimal (he's a teacher), but I know I have to adjust my thinking a bit on things too. One of the reasons I get so damned upset about all the household chores falling on me is that I feel like I've given in to some 1950s bullshit that men can't cook and clean and "it's a woman's job," and so on. I work full-time as well, so its not like I'm a housewife with loads of time on my hand. But, reading that article made me realize it isn't really a gender issue at all. The most intriguing part of the article was actually the comments from readers. Many of them were men complaining that they do all the household chores for their ADD/ADHD wife. It almost made me feel good to see so many hard-working men out there taking care of their women :-)
But really, I have to remember that this has nothing to do with gender or stereotypes and I'm not being a doormat that should hang her head in shame around her fellow female warriors. I am a doormat, and I am working on that. But at least I am starting to recognize the situation for what it is. My husband has ADHD and has a million and one issues with every chore put in front of him (he won't do anything gross or germy or wet -- what chores are there left to do?). But these are just obstacles and I know there are solutions. I'm not fighting a societal norm anymore, which makes it feel less of a behemoth to conquer.
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