Domestic bliss

As brilliant as Mr Man often is, he is alas not always perfect.  I am not going to list all of his minor imperfections though - this is not an exposé piece for the tabloids or their magazine equivalents - but I am afraid I am going to reveal one of his biggest failings; his inability to see that it is necessary to change the bed sheets, pillow cases and duvet cover once a week.  I am sure that if left to his own devices it would be lucky if it gone done twice per year, and vague memories of when he lived in a house share with other boys remind me that even after he met me and he was on the trying to impress phase, his sheet etiquette was still more on a monthly schedule rather than weekly. Yuk. Over the years I have tried to encourage Mr Man to help put clean and crisp sheets onto the bed, by reminding him of the delight you get when you get into bed and it is all fresh and clean and suggesting that you sleep better in a refreshed bedding environment, but it has had little success.  The best way I have managed to get him to help is by actually taking the dirty sheets off the bed in the morning, leaving the mattress, duvet and pillows to air for the day and then when it gets to bedtime and he is complaining he is tired as he works so hard blah blah blah suggesting that if he helps me to put the clean bedding on including the duvet cover (his most hated part) then he will be able to get into bed and get his desired shut eye so much quicker.  This has had mixed results as whilst he at least helps out, it is not without a certain degree of Kevin-the-Teenager-esque behaviour.

A recent straw poll amongst some female friends has revealed that Mr Man is not alone in his resistence to clean sheets, or rather reluctance to actually changing the bedding himself, unprompted, on a regular and frequent basis (For the record bi-annually is not considered regular or frequent). Once friend who shall remain anonymous for the sake of her marriage even revealed that on one occasion when she was going out for the evening, had pulled the I will take the sheets off so he HAS to put clean ones on before bedtime trick, actually came home to find her husband asleep on top of the mattress and under the duvet with no bed linen on at all.  When confronted about this particular situation he made matters a lot worse for himself by claiming that he would have put clean sheets on but did not know where they were kept..... Oooh, ouch!  Even Mr Man would not even dare to try that one (For the record they are in the wooden chest at the top of the stairs.)

We have some friends coming to stay with us this weekend and so I have spent some time this week preparing for their visit.  This has included tidying up a bit, and preparing the relevant bedrooms to that they can sleep comfortably in our home, and perhaps the most important job of all, putting clean sheets and bedding on each of the beds.   So this morning, after Mr Man disappeared off to play hockey, I set about making up the beds for our guests, as well as changing the sheets on our own bed as I do every week.  Four beds made up with clean and fresh bed linen later and not only do I feel a sense of achievement for the day, but I have worked hard and so now no longer need to go to the gym.  Result.  Mr Man may not have helped out thus far, but he is on dinner cooking duty and so is solely responsibly for cooking a delicious meal for our guests later on, clearing away afterwards and leaving the kitchen in the neat, clean and tidy state he found it in.  At least this way he will be able to still be able to claim his (almost) perfect status.  Everyone's a winner.