Division of labor

This week we had a situation that beautifully illustrated how things often get done around our house. Early in the week, Gretchen found a dead mouse on our back patio. Her natural response, since that was a Very Icky Thing, was to cover it with a flower pot and wait until I got home to deal with it.

I don't mind so much having to deal with Very Icky Things like that, but the problem is that I'm (a) lazy (as has already been well-established), and perhaps more importantly, (b) forgetful. I would consistently remember that there was a deceased mouse awaiting me on the patio around meal times, which was not exactly when I wanted to deal with it, and then promptly forget immediately afterward. By the end of the week it was a bit of a running joke where Gretchen would ask as politely as possible when I might get off my ass find the time to deal with our little friend in the backyard, and I would reassure her that I was planning to do it posthaste (I even had "dead mouse" written on my to-do list).

Naturally, it wasn't until today that I finally got around to peeking under the flower pot. I'll spare the gruesome details, but let's just say that what could have been an unpleasant but easy chore five days ago was downright nasty, and I'll just leave it at that.

Upon further reflection, I realized that you could substitute just about any household chore for "dead mouse", and that would pretty much describe our different approaches to getting things done around here. It's really a wonder sometimes that she doesn't throttle me...