Retired Husband Benefit

Retired Husband Benefit

Wow! I came home tonight to the smell of supper coming from the kitchen. My husband had supper waiting for me. He has helped out with meals a lot throughout the summer by cooking on the grill. He told me that this fall and winter if I tell him what to make and give him instructions on how to make things, he would try his hand at cooking. Remember, Bob retired in May and has become the “house husband”. I am so pleased with how he has pitched in and helped me around the house, and actually has taken over some chores like laundry. He has made it easier for me to be employed full time. I am finding so many benefits to his being home. One example: yesterday we needed to have a plumber come for our toilet. Before his retirement, I would have had to take time off of work to be home for the plumber. I could give hundreds of examples I have found throughout the summer. He has mentioned that “won’t it be nice to come home from work with all the snow being blown out from the driveway”, and “when the weather is bad in the winter, I can drive you to and from work”…umm these will be nice benefits too! He has even offered to do all of the grocery shopping. However, he wants a list made by me…now like many women, I don’t grocery shop from a list, so that’s been my hesitation to turning this chore over to him. BUT, I think I may just make myself sit down and make a grocery list and let him take that job…. I have never really liked grocery shopping! So, on Sunday I made a meat loaf, we had that last night for supper with micro-waved baked potatoes. This morning I showed him the casserole dish in the frig that I had made Sunday with browned hamburger and onion. I set out a can of Campbell’s tomato soup, can of green beans, and showed him the container of Reasor’s mashed potatoes in the frig (yes, I cheated on the mashed potatoes, I’m not going to make him do real mashed potatoes, at least not yet!). I told him how to put it together, put in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes and it would yield a delicious hot dish (that’s Minnesota lingo for casserole) for our supper! My Mother called this casserole “Shepherd’s Pie”. I smelled it when I came in the house, and along with rolls, it tasted as delicious as it smelled, and the best thing was that my husband made it! This from one the most “macho man” I have ever known, up to 5 – 10 years ago!! When I came in the door he was talking to our daughter on the phone, when I talked to her, she couldn’t believe when her Dad told her he had made supper!!! Now, she is accustomed to a husband that cooks, because her husband does most of the cooking in their home. But, she never saw her Dad cook – ever. She told me, “Boy, retirement is good for Dad and for you too!” I am so grateful for my wonderful husband, and now, after the many doubts I had about him retiring, I must say that I am grateful too, for his retirement!