My husband tries very, very hard to excell in communication. At the end of January I brought up the topic of work loads and household chores. We both work full time. I have been doing more of the cleaning and cooking lately. Since the new year, he had cooked one dinner in that entire month. I had also started to do more of the communical chores like laundry and dishes. We had an honest and open discussion about this. There was no arguing or yelling.
My husband recently started a new job and has been putting in a few extra hours due to this. He is having to learn more skills and increase his workload too. So he has been coming home more tired. This contributed to the shift in workload and he recognized it. Now that a bit of time has pasted and he is more used to the job, things are getting easier.
He is now trying to be more present in the kitchen after our discussion. I made a rice bowls with taco meat last week. He made a point of putting down the video games to come help me chop vegetables. The meal took maybe 30 minutes to prep and cook. It took him a good 15 minutes to chop 2-3 bell peppers but I am so proud of him for listening to my concerns and helping. He also helped with some dishes and just spent time in the kitchen with me. He has never really been much of a cook and it melts my heart that he is really trying to learn. I appreciate him for this.
He is even trying to learn how to cook some of my favorite dishes for Valentine’s day and forbids me from helping with this process. I am planning to bake him something in return and make a night of staying in and building Legos to celebrate.