In Hot Water

I was talking with my sister today (yes, you). We touched a little bit on managing money in a marriage. She's got "His. Hers. Ours." My dad has his piles of gold. My mom has "The Ship" that arrives each month. Similarly, I've got "The Wisdom."

The Wisdom is a beautiful thing. It started back when we were first married. We were both working full-time, although my full-time schedule alloted for free weekdays. (That's Nursing, for you). One particular day, I industriously cleaned our little apartment, did the laundry, made dinner, read a book, exercised, ate five fruits and vegetables, and finished my fine needlepoint. Perhaps I was still a little newly-wed-starry-eyed about all the domesticity and the idea of taking care of The Husband. When Briton came home to our immaculate apartment, dinner was ready and waiting. We sat down to our homely meal of and Roasted Duck with Raspberry Glaze and Carottes Juliennes, and clasped hands as we gazed adoringly at each other. Now this part is true. "Briton," I said, "I can see the wisdom of our church leaders in encouraging us to be homemakers" (or something to that effect). I honestly felt very fulfilled from the day's work (and play).

Briton, being Briton, raised a dubious eyebrow and then made fun of me, "Oh! The Wisdom."

So, the idea of staying home and taking care of the house (and one day, the kids) started being referred to as "getting The Wisdom." As in, sitting on Heidi's porch, chatting, while the kids played happily and the sun shone benevolently upon us while The Husbands slaved away in their dark, isolated cubicles - that was The Wisdom in all its glory. The Wisdom also later became a synonym for the finances I'm in charge of for running the house. As in, "Did The Wisdom balance this month?" The beauty of The Wisdom is that I use my wisdom (or lack thereof) in its general reallocation to the local economy without being necessarily accountable to The Abacus. As long as our needs are taken care of, we're good. Right? Riiight???

Inevitably, I use The Wisdom in ways Briton would not (he still wears the same clothes he had in high school). But I'm the one with The Wisdom so he's not supposed to gripe. But things come up every now and then. Case in point happened tonight. I needed to go running. I decided to treadmill it at the rec center. It was a great workout, I talked to a lady who showed me how to do a stretch for my hip, and I listened to some cool tunes. Very much worth the admission fee. I came home, covered in dried-up sweat. Conversation ensues:

Briton: You went to the SHARC?
Me: Yeah. I had a great workout.
Briton: You paid four dollars. Why didn't you take a shower there? ... (this is the part that kills me) ... You could have used their hot water.

(This post is giving me deja vu. If I've posted about "The Wisdom" before, please forgive me. If I've posted about The Wisdom and the facts differ from this post, then bear in mind ... "never let facts get in the way of a good story).