Big deal, right?  Yes, it is a big deal.  This is a man raised in a family where the mother always made the meal, did all the housework but none of the yardwork or mechanical maintenance, and never learned to drive a car.  In over 30 years of marriage, my meat-addicted husband has never really embraced the greater range of food offerings beyond peanut butter and assorted sandwich fixings, barbecue, and holiday meals prepared by women.

Today, in the middle of the day while I was working on a listing contract to be signed later in the day, my husband appeared in the kitchen and noted that he was going to make some stuffing.  If I could make that Scooby Doo noise, I would do it now, because that is how I felt then.  Make stuffing?  Granted, it was from a box and I had to have him bring it to me so I could show him where the directions were, plus I had to tell him where the measuring cups were stored in the kitchen, but he was determined.  I turned and saw him leaning over the kitchen island, reading intently and decided to just GO FOR IT!

I mentioned that if he took some of the chicken breasts out of the bottom drawer of the freezer and put them in a little liquid they would soon be cooked.  I further suggested he might want to take some onion, celery, and carrot, roughly chop them, and cook them in a little butter in a pan on low heat.  When the stuffing directions were complete, he could combine the vegetables and the cooked, chopped chicken with the stuffing into a casserole-type dish in one pot.  He did it all, brought me some with the remark that if I complained about anything he would never do this again.  It was good, particularly so since I did not have to make it.  He called our teenage son from the man cave in the basement and offered him some of the "feast".  After the feeding, our son commented on how proud his Dad was, that he had told him there was a meal he had made, ready to eat, and noted again that he had made it.  Our son was amused but only said that quietly to me.  So why the big deal about Dad making food?

Well, I have been in business now for 3 years, in a depressed, slow, oversupplied market where the realtors are dropping like flies.  My business has increased, despite my backward and inefficient methods.  My husband is finally seeing the light!  His salary is stagnant, dependent on his company's performance and profit, generally unrelated to his own excellent contributions to the bottom line.  I, on the other hand, have total control over my real estate fortunes - I work, I earn.  The more I work, the smarter I work, the more I earn.  My earnings are also dependent on freedom from antiquated notions of who does what around the house.  Eureka!  (ScoobyDoo sound effects would be useful here too.)  It is all finally coming together.  My future earnings are unlimited and my husband is a part of that.  Thank God for a Renaissance man, even if he is a decade or two or three late.  I think I'm going to keep him anyway.