Equality? My aunt fanny!

I'll just tell the female readers upfront that they may want me hung from the highest point after they read this but they need to really read it before they form an opinion one way or another.

Many a book, song, movie, rally and voice has been created and raised in the pursuit of equal rights for men and women. No, I am not going to dispute that this was and is still, unfortunately, necessary in many parts of the world and most certainly in almost any industry. What I will say is that when it comes to equality, most women (far be it for me to paint all women with a single brush) pick and choose when they want that equality to be executed. Let's look at some examples.

The Workplace. Equal pay for equal work. No arguments here. If an accountant is doing a certain job, then all accountants doing the same job should be paid the same wage regardless of gender, colour, religion or any other factor.

The Mechanics. It is a well known fact that a woman getting her car fixed is a huge area of abuse that continues with unscrupulous mechanics. The ignorant is seen as easy fodder to be fleeced of their cash.

Dry Cleaners. I used to work at Sketchley Cleaners' main plant. I can tell you with direct knowledge that women and men's clothing are treated the same way, in the same chemicals, ironed on the same boards. You all are being ripped off each and every time you put in your clothes and are charged more.

So those are three examples of when women will scream for equality and to be treated as equals. Here are a few examples of when they do not.

Snow shovelling. Yes, please, spare me. You will go out and shovel and help but be honest and you will say that the man (and the children if applicable) are the bulk snow removers.

Eavesthroughs. Who gets to climb up the ladder, risking bodily harm, to free the eavesthroughs from all the gunk and grit? That's right, the man (almost all times).

Spiders and such. Sure, you can kill them yourselves but be honest and most of you will admit to calling in the calvary.

Backed up toilets. Sure, if he is not around you know how to work a plunger (resisting urge to make crass euphemism), but we all know that the call will go out to free up the plumbing if the man is home.

Changing tires. Women go to the classes, read the manual, do all the knowledge transfer form friends and seminars. What happens the first time they need to change it on the side of the highway in the rain? A call to CAA or a chat with the poor sap sitting in the car with her.

Which brings us to today. DW, that woman I love so much and will do anything for, strives to be the new age woman but really we are as new age as our parents and their parents before them. She does the majority of the shopping and the cooking and a fair share of the cleaning. I help with the cleaning (along with the child), do the bulk of the discipling, heavy lifting and service work.

So, I found myself outside in the elements just after 7AM this morning. The child was late getting up again. I woke her and went into the guest room to look outside. Sure enough, the weather folks got it right this time and there was a light dusting of snow that was sticking to the ground. Where there is snow, there is usually ice and that meant the POS would glide around like on a skating rink if left with the POS all-season tires still on.

I've been mentioning that they need to change soon with the snow finally coming but it was left to my role to deal with. So, while TC stewed at being late (sucks to be her), I dutifully changed all four tires of DW's car even though DW knows how to change a tire and is quite capable of doing so in a pinch. Also, I changed the wipers that she bought and could have easily installed when she bought them by reading the instructions. This even though she still complained that the existing ones continued to hit and miss on her windshield.

When I was all done, DW came out and thanked me, handed me my Starbucks travel mug filled with hot tea and honey and a bagel with melted peanut butter and sent us on our way. People can rail against the system all they want, we each settle into the roles we are comfortable with and that suits our particular family and circumstance. I can cook just fine, but DW rules the kitchen. She works in IT but the home network and electronics are in my domain. I look after the vehicles, she looks after the household items. It works in our environment and for our family.

It's just hard sometimes when one's bad knees are embedded in the stomach of a Taz doll because one cannot find the knee pads (I would have checked the bedroom, but that would have been pointless and I did not see them in the basement), it's below zero, it's still snowing, you're late, you're sleepy, you wish you had done this when it was near 10C outside and there was still a long drive in and then back from TC's school.

Ah well, I am sure I will benefiting in some culinary way in the near future (can you say gnocchi and fresh made pasta?) so I am not bitterly complaining right now. I just know that I will be ensuring that EVERYONE benefiting from my struggles will be up and outside right there with me in the future.

Mmmmmmmmm, gnocchi.

Ciao.