Sylvia was tired. She sat in front of the pile of washing and burst into tears. She did not sign up for this. She was twenty nine years old, with two small kids and she was constantly just busy cleaning and scrubbing toilets and she had no time for herself.
She gave up her job as marketing assistant five years ago when she got married. In the beginning it was wonderful. She and Paul used to go out in the evenings and during the day she had time to go and meet her friends for breakfast and lunch. Then they decided to get pregnant. They spend so much time preparing for the baby, and the baby shower was wonderful. They had everything that they needed, but nothing could have prepared them for after the birth.
Paul decided that she should have a natural birth and she agreed. She wanted the experience, and Paul was a bit old school when it came to things like that. Hence the fact that she gave up her job to look after the house. He made a joke once, to say that he wanted her barefoot and pregnant all the time, but she was not one to be submissive. She was in labor for sixteen hours. Sixteen long hours of pure hell, and no one should ever tell her that natural birth is a beautiful experience!
She always said that she was ever going to become your typical housewife, and she would still come and go as she pleased, but that is exactly what she had become. She was the one raising the kids, while Paul get to go to his cosy job in the mornings, and after that for drinks with his friends, and when he got home he expected a fully home cooked meal. She was tired of it all, and it was time that things changed around here, and when Sylvia put her foot down, people used to listen.
She grabbed the washing and then bundled the kids into her station wagon. She stopped in front of the laundromat and dropped off the washing. She drove straight to Paul's favorite restaurant and ordered dinner, and then took the two kids to the park to play for an hour. The fresh air did her the world of good, and two hours later she picked up dinner and the washing and headed back home. The kids were tired after the excursion and she put them down for a nap. For once she was able to spend some time on herself and took a long soak in the tub. She carefully put on her make up and did her hair. She phoned her friend and told her that they were going out that evening, and when Paul walked in after five, complaining about a hard days work, she put the two screaming kids into his arms, and walked out the door, shouting that dinner was in the oven.
It was his kids too, and it was time that he took some responsibility. She came back a few hours later with her sanity and found Paul totally exhausted in the middle of the living room floor looking as if he was going to burst into tears. Before he could say a word, she put the kids to bed and told him to pour them each a glass of wine.
It was time to tell him how things were going to work from now on.....
