Last week I was driving through the lush hills of Tuscany on my honeymoon. I rarely get to sound this worldly, so bear with me.
In truth, I wasn’t the one driving. My husband was. Moments earlier I had attempted to drive – but within seconds I stalled the engine, threw my hands up and relinquished the keys to my partner because that’s the kind of tenacity he fell in love with.
The mental circus of operating a manual car in a foreign country went straight to my too-hard basket. Why induce sweaty palms and overseas insurance woes when he was happy to do the driving anyway?
Fast forward a few days later and we’re in Florence flitting between cathedrals and our next plate of pasta.
Although I was hands-on in planning the trip, once there I had decided it was none of my business how we actually made things happen. John’s better at reading maps anyway, so I happily took in the sights while he did the navigating.
As the days passed, I noticed he was getting a feel for this vibrant new city, conquering language barriers and public transport systems – yet I still had no clue. I had appointed myself official gelateria patrol person, constantly strolling three paces behind him and that was the extent of my personal development.
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Being a tourist isn’t brain surgery. I knew I could do what he was doing if I had to but I just…didn’t. Because he was there to do it for me.
It’s a pattern in our relationship that rears its head most noticeably when we’re travelling. When abroad, he does the heavy lifting and I’m basically on Contiki.
We jokingly call it the relationship crutch – this tendency to step aside and let the more qualified (or willing) partner do the tricky thing instead. This crutch mentality can apply to both men and women, and has the potential to spread rapidly with the right amount of sunlight and a can’t do attitude.
Consider this. In any long-term relationship, each person will inevitably nestle into defined roles according to their strengths and likes. You hate washing up? No problem, I’ll do it. I can’t stand putting the rubbish out – can that be your job?
These early negotiations seem harmless. If one person likes doing something the other doesn’t, everybody wins, right?
Top Comments
Great observations, and so true.
I was mostly single, living in a new city where I knew no-one (at first anyway) for a number of years before I met my husband and I didn't realise it at the time, but it was somewhat of a burden to have to do EVERYTHING for myself. I didn't even realise it bothered me until I eventually let go of a few things and it felt great. It was tempting to keep going that way, but it is true that you can miss out - the example of the writer letting her husband take charge on the honeymoon and this impacting her experience was spot on.
These days, we split a lot of tasks or take turns at others, which I feel is a good balance.
Dangerous to let one partner do all the finances. Ever heard of sexually transmitted debt?
My first hubby died when we were in our 30 s. I got a job that involved driving in parts of Sydney I hadn't driven before, new places every day. I had to learn to do a bunch of things he previously did. I'm telling you, when you're crying is not a good time to learn to navigate in the dark.
Keep your independence, girls. Anything can happen.