Relax... Equal Relationships are a Good Thing

I've spent the better part of a lifetime assuming that as a southern woman it would be my place to take care of everything. From the kids (if there are any) to the household to my husband, it seemed natural for everything to be my responsibility.

Every southern woman I've ever known has operated in this manner.

I wasn't bothered by that looming future and it never occurred to me that it didn't have to be that way.

As southern women, we're taught these qualities from birth. I could host a dinner party in my sleep.

But I guess the idea of an equal relationship had never dawned on me as a realistic possibility. All of my past relationships have followed this standard, so I just took it at face value.

Men drink beer and watch sports. Women drink beer and clean the house while cooking dinner and doing laundry. Typical, right?

I was ready.

But now I'm realizing that southern relationships aren't unequal.  I just hadn't seen (or looked for) the other side of the relationship, the side where the man takes equal responsibility and takes care of his woman.

In my mind, I was going to be June Cleaver (yes, especially because of the cute 1950s wardrobe).

Yes, my children will have spotless rooms without me prompting them to clean.

But after meeting a very special person recently, I've begun to see the beauty of an equal relationship.

I can still be June Cleaver, I just have to let Ward help me sometimes.

This can be me, if I allow myself the opportunity.

I now understand that it's okay to let someone take care of me for a change. I don't always have to be an over-prepared, type A personality. I can relax and the world, or my relationship, will not fall apart.

This has been an incredibly liberating experience thus far.

Bless the hearts of every southern woman who feels the need to do everything by herself. Get a maid and eat a piece of cheesecake, you'll feel better.