This Dad Handled the Stress of Living With 4 Females in the Best Way: By Ironing Silently
Whitney Fleming, a mother of three teenage girls, knows that tensions can run high as the day winds down. And on one particular evening, two of her three daughters were particularly stressed out over a music competition they had the following day. And although the mom admits it's typically her role to keep her "House of Hormones" in check most of the time, her husband pitched in in an unlikely way that instantly calmed her nerves. She shared what happened in a Facebook post that night:
I'm pretty sure all four females have either cried or sprung a few tears: one out of frustration, one out of exhaustion, one out of nervousness, and one because she has no idea how she will survive raising three teenage girls . . . Although I thought we were prepared, we're having last minute freak outs over clothing and not feeling ready and do we have the right music copies and OMG where is my belt?
Yep, this situation will seem all too familiar to any parent. But thankfully, just as she reached her breaking point, Whitney turned around and noticed something soothing amid the chaos: "So, as the whole house loses its mind, I look over and see this: my husband ironing my daughter's blouse for tomorrow. And even though he has a cold and is exhausted from a long week of work, I think he's never looked sexier."
The mother of three went on to explain that although kids ultimately change everything about being married, all you can do is hope for the best:
You see, you just never know who the person you marry is going to be once you have kids. The man or woman you wed at 18, 25, 30 or 45 is just not the same when you bring children into the mix. And there's no litmus test on how someone will respond when living in a house with three tween/teen girls. We marry for love and hope for the best out of that person when we're at our worst.
At the times when you're about to lose your sh*t because everything seems to be going wrong, it's OK to look to your partner for support, even if there's no talking coming from their end. "So when there was yelling upstairs over the blow dryer and the dog was barking and the TV was up too loud and someone was crying over a shoe and I scrambled in the kitchen trying to make chili for the luncheon at the school, my husband calmly did what was needed," she wrote.
Whitney encouraged other women who haven't had kids yet to ask themselves these questions before starting the family: "When you consider spending the rest of your life with someone, marry for love and kindness and shared values and respect. But also ask yourself, 'Can I imagine this person wielding a hot appliance in the middle of a hormonal hurricane?' If you think the answer is yes, you've got a keeper."