The time-curse on women

One of the questions most married men ask is why the woman in their house seems to never be on time for just about anything.

She is, almost always, a step or two behind schedule.

When it’s time to leave home for work or church, that’s when she grabs her cup of tea or runs around issuing orders to the maid or houseboy to the annoyance of the husband .

The irritated man, keys in hand, will walk to the car for the usual hooting and that’s when she races back to the bedroom  to do final make-up touches or just give herself a final glance in the mirror.

As if the holdups are not enough, when she finally hops into the car, she will have forgotten something that will see her rush back into the house: it’s either a baby’s nappy or a purse she forgot in the handbag she carried the previous day.

And it’s one lucky day if she just makes one round of running back into the house because on a normal day, she might make a few more rounds while the annoyed husband waits impatiently.

What is it about time, many men ask, that women seem allergic to? What is so difficult about doing things on time?

The questions are many and the concerns valid, although they are most of the times raised without serious analysis of the politics of task-sharing in the home which hugely contributes to the so called time-unconsciousness in women.

Whereas the ‘ time conscious man’ will usually wake up to a hot bath then dress in neatly ironed clothes chosen and laid down for him, the woman prepares the water—or is at least in charge of ensuring that there is hot water—and at times selects and irons not only the husband’s clothes, but also hers and the children’s.

Breakfast time, all the man has to do is simply walk to an already set table and feed himself when the woman is actively involved in the preparation of the food and setting of the table apart from feeding children.

Other than that, there are the daily operations of the home that she normally manages and must think about or act on to ensure that the home is functional.

She has to organise the food to be consumed by the household; the washing and cleaning be done among other activities—stuff that very few men never really worry about.

So, the simple and straightforward answer the puzzling question of women and time, which some men seem not to find the answers to, is: Most of the delays by women are due to the simple fact that the balance of workload in the home tilts towards the woman to the comfort of the man.

While the man is the comfort-zone—where he is too busy getting irritated by a problem he unknowingly contributes to—the woman is busy running and managing too many lives and issues, yet she the hours they both have in a day remain the same, 24.