Jobs only a mother will do

No matter how far the cause of equality of the sexes progresses, there are some jobs that only a woman will do. And no, I'm not talking about changing diapers. In fact, I would go so far as to say, that some jobs only a mother will do.

Several nights ago we had a friend over for dinner. Dave cooked a very elegant roast chicken which boiled over in the oven, filling the kitchen with smoke. After the meal concluded he forgot all about it. Last night when I went to make meatloaf, the oven was still in its same sad shape. Of course cleaning an oven is not something the master of the house will undertake. Of course not. :(

And do you think that Old Mother Hubbard could get one of her many children to do it? Fergedaboudit.

So, yours truly spent a particularly grotty hour today cleaning the oven. Bleh. I had forgotten to do my old trick of lining the bottom of the oven with tinfoil when we moved in, so it was a rub a dub scrub operation. The worst part was getting down on my hands and knees with scrubbing implements of destruction, and then back up again.

Side note to self: when did you my knees get so old?

Anyway, this led me to ponder the many tasks that only a mother (or a woman on her own) will undertake. Because there is no way on God's green earth that a male will even think about doing them.

Ahem...

• scrubbing the toilet
• cleaning out the linen closet
• mopping or sweeping a floor
• cleaning out the fridge
• throwing out moldy green things that were not previously green
• changing the tablecloth on the table
• changing the bed linens
• scrubbing a stove

I'll stop here before I get feeling belligerent. Too late. :)