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My Grandparents Domestic Division of Labor

30-Day Blogging Challenge September 1 to September 30, 2011 ~ Day 24 Prompt: It has always struck me as funny how household chores are divided out. Who takes the trash out, who rakes the leaf’s, who sweeps the floors? How come I always get dishwasher duty whether I cook or not? Why do I end up walking the dogs when it’s raining? How come I always cut the lawn? So, surely we all have some daily chores stories, whether from your own home or from when you were a child at home with your parents or guardian. Therefore, your prompt for day 24 is…. The Domestic Division of Labor.

My Grandparent’s domestic division of labor, in most cases, was traditional. Grandma took care of the inside of the house and Grandpa took care of everything outside the house. The exceptions concerned my Grandfather’s room, coffee, and the flowerbed.

My Grandfather was a smoker. He began smoking at thirteen years old and smoked for the rest of his life. My Grandmother did not smoke, so they had separate bedrooms for as long as I can remember. Grandpa took care of his own bedroom; he cleaned it and made the bed. Despite the smoking issue, my Grandparents were married for over fifty years. In fact, my Grandmother outlived my Grandfather for only a year.

My Grandmother did all of the cooking, with the exception of the coffee. Grandpa drank coffee and Grandma drank tea. Grandpa made his own coffee, perhaps it was because he made “cowboy coffee” and it was strong enough to walk under its own power. Grandma would wash his coffee cup with the rest of the dishes, but she never made coffee.

Outside the house, Grandma planted the flowers. Grandpa would fertilize the ground usually with chicken manure. Every spring, a week or so before Grandma planted the flowers; Grandpa cleaned out the chicken house and put the manure on the flowerbeds. Then, when Grandma felt the time was right, she would plant the flowers. I always enjoyed watching the flowers as they grew and began to bloom.