Salute to Moms

First, let me say that my hubby is awesome.  When I am smart enough to ask him to do something for me, he almost always does.  And the things he just naturally does for our family make up a decent list as well.  But most of what he does around the house and for us in general is very concrete:

• He fixes things (which means we can afford 4-wheelers, motorcycles and various other toys, with people wondering how - it's all because my guy can buy them worn and cheap, but have them looking and running well with lots of work; AND he can fix, make, or install just about any other thing in the house, from kids' toys to plumbing to electrical to...  Now, waiting for him to have the time to get to all this is sometimes not realistic, but the fact that he can do it and often does still amazes me)
• He mows, edges, and otherwise beautifies our yard (as long as that only involves green things, not flowers)
• He builds things (if I want a custom mount for my phone in my car, presto, he can make it happen; science fair projects - no problem in this house)
• He can clean better than I can (but generally takes too long and chooses not to)
• Need something organized to fit more in the space you have available?  He's your man.
• He is firm, prone to being harsh and even yelling.  Not that it's always a positive quality, but when the kids need a firm talking to, he's up for the job for sure.
• Works full-time as an engineer, providing for our family

Most of what I do around the house and for our family feels more "behind the scenes":

• Pick up things everyone else (including the pets) leave out of place around the house, sometimes yelling for the offender to PLEASE come push in their bar stool, put their dish in the dishwasher, hang up their jacket, put their clothes in the dirty clothes, pick up stuff the left downstairs, etc...?  Yes, sometimes I feel like this is all I get done
• Manage our finances.  This includes bill paying, budgeting, looking for better deals for recurring expenses, etc.
• Grocery shopping and buying kids' clothes, school supplies, etc.
• Cooking.  On rare occasions Hunter will jump in and cook a meal for us.  If we make it Darrell's responsibility for any meal, the solution is to eat out (and yes, this tends to happen a few times a week).  I am a somewhat reformed cooking hater, and by age 40, finally really learned my way around my own kitchen.
• Laundry.  I'll admit that in part this is due to me being picky and not wanting others to mess with my system, but seriously, it often seems that everyone else in the house thinks little elves magically keep them in clean clothes, and on the rare occasion I fall behind, they incredulously wonder how they've come to the end of their clean underwear
• Facts of life and deep emotional conversation-er.  Yes, even the boy comes to me with his birds and bees questions.
• Maker of all appointments for the kids, activity and vacation planner, and chief transportation officer for all the kids do (although thank goodness Darrell is good at carrying out assignments to help get the kids where they need to be)
• Works full-time in market research, providing for our family

I have no idea how my list matches your family's.  I know husbands, wives, and single parents who manage to do more, less, and just plain different than we do.  And I probably left a few essential things off my list, although one was purposefully because we hire it out (housecleaning), thank goodness!  There are also tasks that we share not included on the lists above (for instance, we split technology duties - he is all things TV while I troubleshoot the smartphones and tablets of the household).  But at least in our house, it seems to me that the mom chores are generally the less in-your-face ones.  What I do seems more behind the scenes and less noticeable, unless it doesn't get done.  So, for all you moms out there like me (and those not like me as well), I salute you!