Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And wish you didn't have to take out the garbage.

I have always considered myself a feminist. I have always thought a woman should NEVER depend on a man.

Well it's been about nine days now since my beloved husband has been out of town, and it made me (sadly) realize how much I do depend on a man. <sigh>.

So with him leaving, naturally I was left with a to-do list. We don't have a set list of chores, but over the years we have kind of fallen into responsibilities. I pay the bills, get and sort the mail, plan our meals and make the grocery lists. He takes out the garbage, cleans the cars, maintains the fish tank. And then we have our shared duties - feeding the cats (this tends to be more him than me), cleaning the litter (this tends to be more him than me), watering the plants (this tends to be more him than me), and of course cleaning (this tends to be more him than me).

Okay, so now I have to all all those things?

Oops. I forgot to feed the fish one day, on their every other day schedule. What do I do? Do I feed today and start a new cycle?

Do I have to pull the car out before I put the garbage cans out, or is there enough room?

And then there was the issue of moving heavy things. We had the deck redone and all of our planters and furniture need to be put back in place. I'll need help for this one. Hey - I am just a little bit of a thing after all. (Thanks Adam and Amii!)

So here I am, nine days later, the night before he comes home. I can't wait. CAN'T WAIT! I've cleaned the house. Put out the garbage cans twice. Fed the fish. Did all the laundry. Watered the plants. Paid the bills. Moved the outdoor furniture around (wasn't quite right). I even changed the battery in the fire alarm.

So maybe I'm not a sad excuse of a feminist. Just tiny and lazy with the memory of a fish.

And excited to not have to take the garbage out anymore. <smile>.