We women can be very condescending when it comes to the inability of our men to multi-task and I’ve seen many a woman raise her eyebrows and often her voice in utter despair as we discover the deficiencies when a task is done badly: a vital moment overlooked, a crucial item for the family holiday omitted, a poorly effected task supposedly completed… not!
I’ve decided that 2014 is the year we celebrate (a tongue in cheek look at) why we need men in our lives and I have discovered ….
ONE
Remember the days of the pot luck suppers /dinners .. and the day your dish was perhaps not your finest culinary hour? You grimace as you place it on the shared table and pray that it won’t be the only one left untouched. Well, to have the support of a loving man as they diligently and instinctively eat their way through your single plate option so that your dish doesn't gain orphan status on the shared table has got to be useful.
TWO
Heights ... Show me a woman that will willingly climb onto the roof to grab that stray weed that we have identified as spouting from the guttering or check the leak that has suddenly sprung and is about to flood the lounge .. or take directive to change that precariously sited light bulb, the one that everyone seems to avoid.
No, not many of us would, that’s simply a man’s territory …
THREE
Then there’s got to be high on this list the dreaded tyre change. Murphy’s Law: it will always happen when you are in your finest, it’s pouring with rain and you are ready to hit the big occasion. Flat tyres always occur at the most inopportune moments and when they do you would be hard pressed to find any man that would leave a damsel in distress; even the ones that are a little more inept at the process will still give it a go. Let’s face it ladies, the thought of all that lifting, dirty manoeuvring and nut screwing isn't top on my priorities on any day of the week.
I am so glad that it’s still basically not the done thing for a woman to change a tyre.
FOUR
Trash day ... Men often take this job at the start of a relationship and manage it with absolute pride … andyes ladies,there’s a right way to stack those recyclables and store the trash. They have a system and seem undeterred by the smell and the contents.
Most weeks they even remember the collection day (without our prompt). Trash management is certainly not a yearning I have, yet thankfully they do it without question.
FIVE
Sober driving ... Yes, in our house that significant other happily takes the task (or is it just to my family’s events?). Not sure, but I’m happy. There’s nothing nicer than a few bevies with my sisters knowing that I’m in good motoring hands as my man patiently waits, observes the steady decline in conversation as the wine absorbs and knows that he’s not going to have to do this for another six months.
SIX
Parking … I’m in awe of most men and the way they will tackle the tiniest of parking spaces in the biggest brutes of vehicles. Spaces that I will never consider, become fair game each and every time for a man.
Going to a crowded rock concert with a man certainly doesn't see him stressing for weeks before about the “where will we park” question or getting to the event three hours early just to secure parking.
Men are great and confident parkers and love the challenge of where to park … fact!
SEVEN
Men are excellent wasp and pest exterminators. We ladies are not cut out to hunt that pesky wasp nest at sundown, pluck it from its surrounds, ensconce it in a supermarket bag and throw it in the freezer. That is simply a man’s task and goes along with the dreaded rat baiting and mouse catching in winter. Men are rodent and pest exterminator extraordinaires. Most women I know shriek at the sight of a spider or wasp, so yes, we need men to protect us (seriously)!
EIGHT
Heavy lifting ... Men are simply stronger than us (they are great at jar lids as well) and while we run from the task, men look for these jobs. It’s all about maintaining masculinity and ensuring the guns stay in shape. Whether its shifting house or just moving the furniture around in an existing abode, you name it girls, there’s a man willing to do it. They love to lift and it seems the more difficult the manoeuvre the better,
NINE
Early morning baby or dog walking ... especially on holiday. For some reason they seem to get the job and while there are days that we women can detect a resistance to the task, they always manage to get themselves up in the early hours of the day and grace the beaches with the dogs or kids giving us girls a much needed sleep in.
TEN
Fuelling the car ... There’s not a lot I don’t like doing as much as this task. I will find every excuse to avoid the pumps and always look actively for those with forecourt attendants when it’s a fait accompli. I dislike the total fill up procedure generally and the smell of fuel has never been a big attraction as I go about my busy day.
So I'm happy to know that the men in my life will willingly take the car for its weekly fill up.
Seriously ... I love men but it’s always great to be able to have some fun.
