Share The Load

Nobody could have predicted 2020 as the year it has been. If at all any person says,
“I have been through this before” he would be lying for sure. Covid-19,
pandemic, lockdown, stay at home have been the most trending words occupying
our brains for most of the time. With so much negativity all around, will
someone believe me if I say few “GOOD” things about this period?

When our honorable prime minister declared nationwide lockdown, it was like a question
paper out of the syllabus for me, my dad and my brother. We all were used to
going to our offices daily in the morning and get back in the evening. We
didn’t know what we were supposed to do locked up in our homes, But one person
for whom this wasn’t anything new was my ‘mother’. For her the routine wasn’t
going to change. On the contrary, she was the only one who was going to be
working twice more with all the men of home staying in home for the whole day.
Though my father has worked really hard in his younger days to uplift the
family’s financial condition, he has never been of any significant help to mom
in the household chores. It won’t be wrong to call it an inherited patriarchy.
Not that my mom had ever complained about it. It was only after I had got a job
that mom agreed to the luxury of a maid for household chores like cleaning,
laundry. But with lockdown she was again on her own.

Initial 3-4 days of the lockdown were fun. All family together, no office tension, rerun of
childhood tv shows and home-made snacks every now and then. Then the boredom engulfed
us. Then we were able to see what we couldn’t till then. Mom used to wake up at
5 am, get ready and clean up the house. Dad would be awake by that time and she
would prepare the tea and breakfast for him. Then she would go for washing the
clothes(no washing machine). When me and my brother would wake up, she would
switch to prepare breakfast for us and then again go back to washing clothes.
After finishing the laundry she would start prep up for the lunch. After lunch
is eaten by all of us (mom would be the last to eat as usual) she would get on
to washing utensils. Then if she is lucky, a half hour rest and get on to
prepare evening snacks (we don’t prefer packed snacks. Only freshly home-made).
Then the dinner preparation and washing utensils again and the day would end.
Imagine someone doing this daily for 30 years. I can’t. 

One day when she woke up, she was surprised to see dad cleaning the house. She said he need
not do it but he insisted. He prepared breakfast for her. Me and my brother
were also the part of surprise. We prepared our breakfast on our own. My dad
took the laundry department while brother was the chef for the day and I
handled the cleaning up of utensils. 

My mom was in tears. She had been the real
queen of the home for all the years but it was the first time we had made her
feel like that. We took the oath that household chores were no more just her
responsibility and that the division of labor would continue even after the
lockdown ends and “GO Corona” happens for real.

With modernization, the women have become equal contributors to the money pool of the family but
the men are yet to become equal contributors when it comes to household chores.
Time to see this change.

  

#ShareTheLoad #ShareTheLaundry  #ShareChoresMultiplyLove

I will #ShareTheLoad and help in household chores in association with Ariel India and BlogAdda