A woman on Reddit has received a mixed response after writing a post praising her husband for cleaning their house as a “surprise.” U/AndrysThorngage shared that her husband went above and beyond in tidying the house when she told him her mother was coming by for a visit. However, not everyone was impressed.
- The woman’s mother is critical of the couple’s cleaning. As OP explained, her mother lives nearby and likes to stop by occasionally. When she found out that her mom was coming over that night, she immediately got in touch with her husband. “I asked my husband to clear the sink at some point today (he works from home) and told him I would try to get home as soon as I could to straighten up a bit,” she wrote.
- When she got home, the whole house was cleaned. While the woman planned to do some tidying when she got home, she was shocked to arrive and see that her husband had already done it. “I came home to a perfectly clean paradise. It even smells great. He vacuumed, he dusted, and he even cleaned the bathroom, which has always been my job,” she shared. “I was thrilled. He knows that my mom, while well-meaning, can be critical and my housekeeping and it always stresses me out when she comes over. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.”
- It was a thoughtful gesture, for sure. While OP insisted that she and her husband generally share housework 50/50, the fact that he thought to “surprise” her by doing the bulk of the work was deserving of its own post on the r/TwoXChromosomes sub.
- Many women thought the husband’s gesture was sexy. The idea that a man thought to do something like that for his wife was surely worthy of a reward, right? “Sorry mom, you’ll have to come over tomorrow. Husband cleaned and that is such a turn-on he’s about to get lucky,” u/GroovyYaYa commented. “Seriously… random thoughtfulness and awareness like that… that is hot.” U/sophonaroap added: “If I came home to a deep cleaned house, my partner would sure as shit be getting a BJ.” It seems this was a common sentiment.
- However, not everyone agreed that this needed a post. Some women, who were downvoted harshly, pointed out that cleaning the house for company isn’t something that’s particularly earth-shattering, especially given that he lives there too. “Jesus the bar is so low in these relationships, it’s sad. Cleaning the house you live in is cause for celebration?” asked u/BigTradeDeal69_420. “Do you people pop confetti and champagne when someone washes the car or takes out the trash as well?” U/CommentAway2893 wrote: “While I’m glad it was thoughtful for you, it feels like rock bottom expectations to be grateful he cleaned his own house.” Someone else questioned if a man would write a Facebook post praising his wife if she’d cleaned the whole house.
- It seems there is no right answer here. On the one hand, doing something nice to relieve someone else’s stress is extremely thoughtful and kind. On the other hand, isn’t that just what any decent partner would do, regardless of gender? The idea that this is such a rare and spectacular occurrence that’s worthy of praise on a public internet forum seems slightly over the top, but who are we to tell someone else what to value in their relationship?
What are your thoughts?
