Traditional Gender Roles

So I know it's 2011 and women and men have more equality now than ever before. I love that women can be firefighters, astronauts, CEOs, whatever they want. (except president...yet) I think that's great and I consider myself a feminist. But what I like about my relationship with my boyfriend is that it's pretty darn traditional. I cook, clean, and do the laundry. (hence the blog name) This may seem like your relationship, or not. I have friends who split the household chores and others where the man does the cooking. It's all about whatever works for you as a couple. As long as you don't feel resentful cleaning the toilet or guilty not cooking, it's okay. Talk to each other about who does what around the house and form an agreement you both like. Sometimes I feel guilty about not working that much, but then I whip up a spicy-garlic-mustard-apricot pork tenderloin for his dinner and I realize he's lucky to have a live-in maid and cook!  Here's the recipe for that dish, which I improvised for dinner tonight:

SPICY GARLIC MUSTARD APRICOT PORK TENDERLOIN:

1. Buy a 1.5 lb pork tenderloin
2. Marinate it in a mixture of 1/2 a jar of apricot preserves, 1/2 a jar of whole grain garlic mustard, 4 chopped up Serrano chilies, 2 heaping tablespoons of garlic, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Split the mixture in half. Put half with the pork and save the other for dipping/glazing later. Let the pork sit in the mixture in the fridge for anywhere from 2 hrs to overnight
3. Put aluminium foil on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 min. to an hour.
4. It's done when the pork is no longer pink in the middle. Let it sit for about 5 min and then cut and enjoy. Yum!! PS: I served this with orzo with garlic, oil, red peppers, and lemon juice

Work

So what happens when your partner works much more (or less) than you? That's the position I find myself in. I'm working part-time and going to school part-time. In other words, I've got lots of free time. My boyfriend on the other hand is busy; really busy. He's always going to work, meetings, social stuff. I feel so lazy compared to him. I try to be the best "wife" possible and do the laundry, cooking, and errand stuff for us. But often times I feel bad when he's dead tired heading off to work in the morning and I"m sitting on the computer enjoying a delicious pieced of whole wheat peanut butter toast. (my fave) I won't have a steady job until school is out so there's really nothing I can do, but still. I guess my best advice is that if this is your problem too, just be supportive of each other. Whether you work more or less than the other person, try to do the things they don't have time for. Trust me, they'll appreciate your extra help and return the favor when it's you who is working day and night. Just let each other know in some small way that all that hard work is appreciated. No one likes to feel taken for granted or not special.

Background

Hello Internet! Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Molly and I live with my long-term boyfriend. I'm also currently a grad student for marriage and family therapy. What I really want to do is couples counseling and sex therapy. I want this blog to be a place where people can ask questions or simply read about how to keep a relationship alive in the long run. Hope you like my blog! Feel free to leave me comments or questions.