It’s a Sunday night and there’s a cold front trying to push through our humid and sizzling city. Every week I promise myself that it’ll be cool enough for me to go run at Memorial Park and every week for the past month I’ve talked myself out of it. I drag myself to the gym in our high rise and run alongside the slow-ish geriatrics that make up most of the population of our building. Most are already acquainted and give each other warm embraces or little nods when entering the gym space. I keep my head down when walking in, afraid to make eye-contact. Unlike most of the people that live here, my husband and I do not engage with the local glitterati.

While the high-rise is nice enough, and it seems as if though there’s a “prerequisite” to own a luxury vehicle, these people don’t seem like they’re ones we’d normal want to engage with. My husband and I are some of the youngest people who live here. In fact, I believe we are one of 4 “young” couples living in the building. I like our anonymity. Only the concierge staff and valets really know of our existence. We don’t complain, we don’t make too much of a racket, and we always pay our rent on time. I’d like to think we are the ideal renting couple. Oh, and we don’t have any pets nor kiddos running around shitting everywhere. Not that having those things are bad, we just aren’t THOSE people. At least for now.

Both of our mothers have pestered us to have a child but as it stands now, we are just enjoying our lives. If it happens, it happens. No pressure. Most people when first getting to know me ask what it is I do not whether or not I have children. I love how now a days it’s socially acceptable to ask people what their line of work is. I mean, not that the inquiry is a controversial one, but it wasn’t until that I stopped working that the question caused me to raise an eyebrow. I used to work as a director of an international program at a large University and would gladly tell whomever asked, now I just sputter out, “Oh…I don’t do anything”.

Of course this isn’t entirely valid. If I have one of my trusty gal pals next to me, they’ll usually jump in and say, “Now, that’s not true! She volunteers and takes care of her husband!” Which actually makes me sound a bit like a cad now that I actually type it out. Visions of me in a petticoat dress greeting my husband with a martini and slippers are currently swirling around my head.

The funny thing is, only women seem to ask me that question, and almost always smile from ear to ear when hearing my response saying, “Well GOOD FOR YOU! God, I wish I could do that…” or some variation there of. Now that I think about it, no male has ever asked me that question. They’re usually too busy staring at my tits. Just kidding… well, kinda. The truth is, I do DO things, and honestly, my weeks are usually very busy. I’ll be honest -they’re busy with things like volunteering, and taking care of my husband, which can include a massive amount of subcategories, but my days may also be filled with shopping, lunch with friends, or me walking around a museum or seeing a movie alone. No shame in my game.

Listen, taking care of one’s partner is a full-time job. That is, if you do it right. I got over the guilt a long time ago. My husband wants for nothing. His clothes are always dry cleaned and hanging, his dinners usually consist of 3 courses every evening after work, he never runs out of anything whether it be sport socks, face wash, toothpaste, or his favorite milk. I’m his doctor and haircut appointment maker, his stylist, his chef, his social calendar manager, his travel itinerary creator, and his counselor. I make sure our various memberships never expire. I buy his favorite soaps from Kuhl Linscomb and his must have Jack Black face wash from Nordstrom. I’ve personally decorated our place and ensure that it maintains it’s immaculateness by paying our housekeeper to clean (who I found after going through countless others) every 2 weeks. On weekends he gets cupcakes or donuts for breakfast, and sips wine that I research prior to buying based on his preference of dryness and acidity.

His only responsibility is to work. He’s a regular at the gym as well. He tells me that someone who is fit shows those around them that they have self-control and respect for their overall health, a crucial attribute of many CEO’s and CFO’s of major fortune 500 and 1000 companies. Duly noted.

So here I am, finding the time to blog, but still very busy. I too, hit the gym (A 24 hour fitness gym to be exact), and huff and puff through Zumba and Body pump classes. I may not be as muscular as my husband or thin as I’d like to be, but that’s a story for another blog. For now, I’m just a housewife in Houston, trying to live my best life possible, with many MANY bumps in the road.