Why can’t he just do the dishes?

My wife and I have a great relationship. Always have. But that’s not to say we don’t engage in the occasional argument.

The most common reason for an argument in our home, unmet expectations.

The most common of those unmet expectations, help around the house.

Want to hear something hilarious, my wife once told me that she had so much to do and the full sink of dishes was just too much to handle. My response, the punch line, “Just leave it for tomorrow.”

If you understand why that’s hilarious, you are probably a mom. Most dads are reading and thinking, “Well yea, just leave them.”

So for those dads, that are as lost as I once was, this is for you.

Your wife does not want to be your mother.

Again, your wife, your spouse, your partner, your everything. She does NOT want to be your mother.

So why don’t men just get it? I don’t have a scientific answer, but what I do have is experience.

Men and women are different. I know, life changing realization.

But hear me out.

My wife was asking for help in many ways. By telling me how tired and exhausted and busy and drained she was. She was doing everything short of telling me what to do, because like I said, wives don’t want to be a mom to their husbands.

Here’s the problem. I was not worried about the same things she was worried about. As a man, and as many other men, I was not spending time thinking about laundry and dishes and vacuuming, and all the many other things it takes to run a house. I was worried about closing a sale, was I going to hit goal this month, who could I call or email tomorrow for a referral.

So what do men do? How do dads with exhausted wives at home help out?

Short answer, do better.

The same way you give the world your go get ’em attitude. Bring that enthusiasm home. Stop waiting for direction and requests and a game plan. You are smart enough to know what needs to be done around the house.

Get it done.