He just can't see it!

Nick cooks, and the kitchen is in a shambles. There are drops of food on the stove that have now dried up and stuck to it, that I have to scrub off. There are pots and pans piled up in one sink and dishes in the other one. The counter has not been wiped, and as always when Nick cooks there is flour on it, since he often batters and deep fries his food, to my great dismay.

Then there is the coffee table in the living room. There is an ever-going battle over that table. It's a matter of turf at this point. He's trying to overtake it with his camera stuff and technical gadgets and I keep urging him to put it away, which he won't unless we have company coming over. Finally I usually end up pushing it towards one end of the table so that I at least can clean. We have a candle tray made of glass on the kitchen. On it right now is a lonely candle, and Nick's cloth that he uses to wipe off his computer screen. Even the candle tray is under attack.

Then there are the dust bunnies, which are either doing the tango or making out, on the verge of breeding more little bunnies. He doesn't see them! I see them, but I don't think he does. I see the gravel in the hallway, but he doesn't. I see the stack of old fliers that need to be taken to recycling, does he? Nope!

When the sink is full of grime and the toilet bowl stained with delicious little brown spots, who do you think sees it and cleans it? Moi!

I used to think that he doesn't see it, but maybe he doesn't. A lot of men have this amazing capacity for turning a blind eye to messes. They simply do not notice when something needs to be cleaned. Even when it's begging for it. Or perhaps they do see but don't care. Either way, it can get on your nerves. I happen to like cleaning. I find it refreshing, and it's a great way to work off stress. I like scrubbing things until they shine, and I love the feeling that I get afterwards when the place is sparkling, well as sparkling as our place can get with all of Nick's gear laying around.

They say it's biological. Men don't see details in the home the way women do. During the stone age, it was women who stayed at home and tended to the cave while the men went out and found food. It must be innate for some men to be slobs.