I hate to admit it, but I am on a string of domestic mistakes right now, particularly in the area of shopping for our family. In the past few weeks I have bought: children's vitamins for the wrong age, the wrong
cooking oil, green olives instead of black, the wrong size diapers, and quite a few other items that weren't the right ones from the list. The good part about it is that it does feel good to return items and watch that money go back into the bank account (even if it will only exit a short moment later with the correct purchase -- ride those highs to get through the lows).
I am a big proponent of the idea that
dads can do more than they think they can, but there are some things we just aren't as good at. I don't mean that "we" as a dad-only thing, but more of a personality difference. When I go grocery shopping, I am in and out as fast as I can, mostly because I don't like the crowds, but also because the kids can get a little rowdy in there. My wife, on the other hand, takes her time, reads labels and somehow manages to keep the kids from grabbing everything off the shelves. She also
enjoys grocery shopping, where as I merely tolerate it, so I think we're going to hand that responsibility over to her.
 |
| Still in my "returns" pile |
The same thing happened with our budget. Years ago we decided to start budgeting, and so I, being the man, decided it was my responsibility to lead it. I began an in-depth process of analyzing our spending from the previous year, wanting to create an accurate budget that accounted for a year's worth of contingencies. Well, I got in too deep, and the process took so long that the budget was soon abandoned. Years later, we took the
Financial Peace University class at our church, which begins with a budget. This time we let Katie take the reigns and she has done an excellent job for about a year now. I guess we figured out who should handle the money in our family...
It takes a humble man to admit his shortcomings, particularly in traditionally masculine tasks. As for this man: I can't say I don't struggle with not being as good at some things as I wish I was, but I guess that's life. Thank God that he gave me a wife that balances me out, making up for my lack in so many ways. I suppose that's the meaning of one of the earliest verses in the bible on marriage:
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement." (Genesis 2:18 - Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Comments
Post a Comment