Mother's Day

Congratulations to President Bill Clinton for taking over the "Talk It Over" column of his illustrious better-half (The Jakarta Post, May 12, 1996).

The occasion was Mother's Day when Clinton graciously decided to give Hillary -- Chelsea's mom -- a day off from her spirited weekly writings.

A fancy thought crosses my mind. Why don't we, husbands, resolve to take up a full Sunday's work off from the shoulders of our wives? I feel the idea may not, perhaps, appeal to women, either out of their love for us, or, more probably, out of their fear that they would have to work overtime the next day, to clear up the mess created by us.

Bill Clinton somehow managed to write a piece as beautiful as Hillary's usual column. Would we be able to handle the household chores reasonably well?

For instance, I tried my hands at washing the clothes at home when the maid was away during the Idul Fitri holidays. I didn't even know where the functional controls of the washing machine were located and, therefore, ended up washing the traditional way.

The immediate consequence was excruciating back pain I suffered for the next two days. Oh, I forgot to mention this. My wife commented that the amount of washing powder I apparently wasted could have lasted for a whole week.

The resultant cleaning up of the foam and soapy water from the bathroom and surrounding areas almost exhausted the water in the overhead tank.

Anyhow, my wife complimented me for my good intentions, with a specific request never ever try to assist her in her routine work. Isn't it advantageous to be at a disadvantage?

From this episode, another wisdom dawned on me: "Marriage brings music into a man's life; he learns to play second fiddle!"

It's no wonder that even in a modern society like the U.S., there is no "Wife's Day".

D. CHANDRAMOULI

Jakarta