It is time to break the norms set up by Indian society. Why? Most of them are pretty useless. In ancient times, men used to be the sole bread winners of the family and had to stay out to earn the daily bread whereas women used to stay at home. Because of that women started handling the household chores and they liked doing it.
At present, the scenario has changed. Women are no longer confined to the four walls of the house doing the household chores. They work, earn money and run the house. Not only they do more work than men, but also are earning more than the males in their house. It is happening and you have to accept it, whether you like it or not.
After my dad got retired from his usual tiresome job, he assumed that all he needs to do is sit in front of the T.V. and watch old Amitabh Bachhan movies (he is a BIG fan of Big B). Now this was something bad. Not because of the fact that he wasn’t thinking of contributing to some of the household chores, but because sitting for all day long was going to take a big toll on his health. Also, considering the deteriorating health of my mom, she needed help.
As I live at a 5 hour distance from my parents’ home, I couldn’t visit regularly to get my father to gym. Seriously! Try and convince your father to go to gym. It is REALLY DIFFICULT. What could I do? Lectures, emotional blackmail – nothing worked. I had to do something. I had to get my father help my mother in the household chores considering her ill health and because of my father’s need for exercise (which he never understands).
Then I came across the WashBucketChallenge by Ariel. And my clever mind 😉 came up with an awesome idea. So I went home and told my dad about a special contest in which he had to help mom in washing clothes every time and take a selfie (I had to make it foolproof ;)) until next 30 days. Perks? A huge prize and his cute daughter’s happiness. 😉 He agreed.
So, we went from this: (Mom and Oscar were busy chit chatting with the neighbourhood aunty plus she doesn’t know about this :P).
To this:
Initially it was difficult to get him to work but eventually he realized how much he loved helping mom with her work. That smile you see on her face when she sees how much everyone cares for is priceless. And guess what! After two weeks of practicing in the Ariel WashBucketChallenge, my dad actually feels more active and happy. Moral of the story?
Don’t make it a taboo for men to assist in household chores. The work doesn’t affect your ‘status’ in the house. But if you manage to bring an extra smile on the face of the person you love, it would make you happier than you can imagine. My dad feels better than never before after helping my mom in this small task. Guess what! He would have never experienced such happiness if he had never tried.
So, if you’re a guy, take up WashBucketChallenge and experience what a pleasure it is to help your mom/wife/daughter in household chores and if you’re a girl, I would better ask you to repeat the trick I played on my dad. 😛
P.S. A big thumbs up for me for I actually completed an online challenge for the first time in my life. O:) Also, if you’re going to take up this challenge, make sure you tweet to me @lifeofmanpreet
