I wonder if the slaves who built the White House will be watching as Obama walks up the stairs?

 

I hope so. 

MEN A NAP?

 

 
Well, sort of.
 
This is yet another case of where the opposite sexes - opposite being the operative word here - have completely different perspectives and unspoken assumptions collide on Saturday afternoon.
 
Many men view their home as a refuge, while women, especially those of us with kids, think of it as one more place where work gets done.
 
When a woman sees a pile of dirty dishes and laundry strewn about the floor, we don't just see a mess, we feel like life is out of control. We could have spent the workday brokering world peace, but if our home isn't running smoothly, we have a hard time relaxing. It might not make sense, and it may be just socialization, but it's the way many of us are wired.
 
However for most men, home is a place to escape from work. When he walks in, he doesn't see a system out of balance, disorganized supplies or poorly maintained equipment. All he sees is a long soft comfortable surface - which if you knock the pizza boxes and old newspapers off - is the perfect place to lie down. 
 
Neither is right or wrong, and everyone doesn't always fall into these gender stereotypes, but for many of us, hubby's afternoon nap is more likely to generate heavy sighs and eye rolls than an offer to fluff his pillows.
 
If you're one of the many couples who have differing priorities when it comes to naps, here's a way to look at if from the other side. 
 
Men, imagine you're on a deadline at work. It's years away, but this is the most important project of your life, so you leave nothing to chance. You create detailed schedules of what must be done and you set benchmarks for your team, because you know if you slack off, even for a minute, you will fail.
 
Now, imagine you've set aside an entire day to work on this huge life-defining multi-year project - the one that will determine the success or failure of your entire organization - and just as you're ready to get started, your co-worker, says, "I think I'll take a nap."
 
Guys, you can argue all you want about whether or not leaving the screen door broken for another week is going to derail your family. But if your woman is hardwired to keep things running at peak efficiency and you conk out, it feels like you just don't care.
 
Yes, you deserve a nap.  But if you want to sleep without worrying that she's going to smother you with a pillow, you might want to tell her that you're not abandoned the to-do list, you're just taking a quick break from it. And if you tell her exactly which tasks you'll be delighted to do when you wake up, even better
 
As for women: Imagine you're walking into the spa and just as you're about slip on a comfy robe, the manager says, "Great, you're just in time to scrub the floor."
 
Cut your man some slack.
 
Do what I do - just tape the to-do list to his forehead while he's asleep.