Over the years, I have received gifts for Christmas, birthdays and the like. Each gift that I receive, I treasure- as it brings that person to mind and causes me to reflect on how much that person means to me.

I feel that Leonard has some sort of unique gravitational pull that causes him to never break something that I have no sentimental value. Rather, somehow he manages to break those things that I hold dear. Leonard doesn’t normally wash dishes or help with housework, yet on the rare occasion that he does–something that I value gets broken.

I had thought that he had eliminated most things of value. Like I already stated, he does not normally do any housework. I thought I would ask him for help today. So, I listed every task that I need to do on index cards. Each room was a different card. I didn’t need help in the bedrooms, so I made six index cards. I asked him to pick three. Which he agreed to, but I felt that it made him a bit angry. He feels anything within the confines of the house is considered “woman’s work”. Still, he agreed and commenced to help me clean. I have never met anyone that has to take a break after every task. Still, I was fortunate enough to have him help, so as long as he did it, I didn’t care how long it took.

After his second or third break, he informed me that he had the cards for the three biggest rooms in the house. So, no fair. Especially, since we have our son’s animals, he feels that we don’t need to clean until they are gone. (Interesting concept). I was thankful, that he kept at it, and I only had to do a few items on his index cards after mine were done.

We had brought our hummingbird feeder to the table on the deck to re-fill and somehow Leonard managed to bump it and break the hummingbird feeder. While he was complaining about the work that was needing done, he bumped the broom on a picture I had hanging on the wall, breaking the frame. I wasn’t angry, but was a bit disappointed.

What lesson can I learn from this? 43 years of roles that are established, should not be messed with. Am I materialistic when I do not want items that I do have, to be broken?Sometimes it is a challenge to remember that we are the lucky ones. Yet, we are and I need to be thankful. This is what life is all about, overlooking the faults of others for none of us are above mishaps.

If I took a step back, I could say that it is actually a bit funny. So, step back, I will and continue to be the lucky one. 🙂