Days 4 & 5

Day 4: The divided gender roles Zach and I have taken on since we started living together have been really apparent lately. I started noticing it in bits back when Jacob was born, but being in these tight quarters, out of our element and together 24/7 has felt like a very abbreviated case study in History of the Nuclear Family. I was always aware of the slow evolution of our personal family dynamic, and somehow ok with it. Right now, though, I feel like the bad example in a Womens Studies textbook.

I joke with my mom friends that before we moved into our house, I used to be able to put in a light bulb and Zach used to be able to remember to feed himself. They all agree and come up with equally absurd examples of what couplehood is like in their homes. But seriously, we’re a modern couple, and before that we were each modern singles living independently of one another. We think modern thoughts and have modern ideas, we’re raising our son to be a modern man (read: sensitive, thoughtful, and fully aware of the fact that there are women working on the construction sites too). As a teenager I was the one at home who mowed the lawn (and I can remember doing so well into my third trimester of pregnancy). When he was growing up, Zach’s grandfather taught him to cook. So why is it considered second-rate when I’m the one doing yard work, and why has Zach still not learned where things belong in the kitchen? What caused us to fall into a 1950’s-type rut?

Back at home before we even left, I did 98% of the packing while Zach was in the yard getting dirty with the machines. And before that everyone was telling us their RV stories. In half the cases, someone specifically stated that the husband did the driving and the wife never drove it. I couldn’t understand that. When we’re at home and we ride together, I am usually the one driving because I’m so antsy that I would get bored over there in the passenger seat. I was totally planning to drive this thing too. Afterall, I’m the one who’s better at staying awake.

Ack! We have to check out of this campground now! Beaver Trails Campgrounds in Austin, Minnesota....soooo nice! We've been to Chicago, slept at a rest area in Wisconsin, now we're heading out of this place to SD and Mt. Rushmore.

I'll finish my feminist rant later! Check the flickr link for more photos...I'll have to title them all later so you know what they are.