Omg. I remember my mother teaching me how to scramble eggs when I was 8 or 9 years old. She said part of growing up is learning how to take care of yourself so somebody else doesn't have to.

I was so proud of myself for learning how to make my own breakfast. By the time I was 13 or 14, I was routinely making breakfast for my younger brother and sister too, so Mom could get ready for work in peace.

By the time I was 16, I was doing my own laundry. Same reasons.

THEN

I joined the damn Marine Corps, that bastion of macho conservative manliness.

In the highly conservative Corps, I did laundry, ironed uniforms, dusted, polished, scrubbed floors, and kept my quarters so clean that if my First Sergeant didn't feel like he'd be safe eating off any random surface ... well, God help me.

When I hear conservative men making like they're proud that they don't know how to do housework, I think of them as soiled infants who could profit from a little private time with an old fashioned top sergeant.