Ladies: Can You Change A Flat? Mow The Lawn?

[Saphire]

Well, except for you, Dawn. Are there some things that are usually gender specific that you just can't/don't do? I am having a party on Father's Day and feel a little bad asking my husband to do the grilling. I don't even know how to turn it on! I have never used a lawn mower. Never changed a flat tire. And I have never climbed a ladder!
What things have you never done that are typically gender specific.

 

[Angelhalo]

I can't change a tire.

I am the griller in our house and I mow the front yard and my husband mows the backyard.

I don't know how to do anything with electricty such as changing out a ceiling fan or a light switch, nor do I know how to do any plumbing work other than using a plunger LOL!

 

[SC Minnie]

Well, except for you, Dawn. Are there some things that are usually gender specific that you just can't/don't do? I am having a party on Father's Day and feel a little bad asking my husband to do the grilling. I don't even know how to turn it on! I have never used a lawn mower. Never changed a flat tire. And I have never climbed a ladder!
What things have you never done that are typically gender specific.

I can cut the grass(used to be my job growing up), I can change a flat, and use the grill. I just choose not to.

I also do most of the repairs around the house, painting, changing light fixtures, tiling, simple plumbing, etc.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Well, except for you, Dawn. Are there some things that are usually gender specific that you just can't/don't do? I am having a party on Father's Day and feel a little bad asking my husband to do the grilling. I don't even know how to turn it on! I have never used a lawn mower. Never changed a flat tire. And I have never climbed a ladder!
What things have you never done that are typically gender specific.

"No" to both, although I'm sure I could mow the lawn if I really wanted to (and I don't want to ).

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Yes I can change a tire - My dad made me learn how to change a tire, check the oil and other fluids in the car before I was allowed to drive I now have AAA and have not changed a tire in awhile but I do know how. My daughter and son will also be taught this before they are allowed to drive.

Also I do mow - my husband works over seas so he is gone alot - he mows when he is home and my son and I mow when he is gone- Our lot is a little over an acre - I let my son use the riding mower while I push mow - this is an EXCELLENT workout

Since we live in an area were we are affected by hurricanes I also know how to hook up the generator incase the power goes out.

I can BBQ but rather DH did it - lol - It just taste better when he cooks - you know like salad always taste better when someone else makes it

Because DH is gone so much there are alot of things I can do - I think it is a good thing to know how to do these things - you never know when you might be in a situation where you will have to rely on yourself to get things done.

 

[NMAmy]

I'm in charge of car repairs at our house. I worked as a service advisor at a car dealership for years so I'm much more likely to hear a weird noise, make the appointment, and talk to the mechanic than DH is. I hear a lot of women who say that mechanics treat them like idiots but I've never had one treat me that way.

I can do home repairs (my dad was an architect and also could build things himself and he taught us all) but DH enjoys it so he does most of them if he's around.

I can mow the lawn but I'm extremely allergic to cut grass so DH does it or I pay someone to do it so I don't end up in the hospital. I do use the snowblower--sadly, I'm not allergic to snow.

DH does not know how to grill and I do. He's British and his parents never grilled so he never learned how and is quite content to have me do it.

I grew up in a family with all female children. My parents never gave us the option of not learning to do something because we were girls. We learned how to take care of ourselves so we wouldn't have to depend on someone else. My mom was big on that.

 

[Ephany]

I mow the lawn about half of the time (DH is gone a lot for work). I won't weed-whack though, I can but I hate our weed-whacker. I can change a tire, but the AAA guy can do it much faster. I can grill, change the fluids, wipers and air filter in my car (although I tend to let the mechanics do most of the fluids except the windshield wiper fluid). I can repair/replace the light fixtures, the ceiling fans, the electrical outlets, and have trouble-shot and repaired the dryer. DH takes care of the mechanical stuff mostly, while I take care of the basic electrical things that need to be done. It works for us, but my older female co-workers think I'm nuts.

 

[Piecey]

I can't change a flat, I have AAA.

DH was going to show me how to mow the lawn/work his precious mower this summer but I had a c-section and now he refuses. Next summer he says.

 

[luvmy3]

I can't change a tire but I can get out dh's air compressor and fill a deflated tire on my van. I can also mow the lawn.

 

[jenm2878]

Yep, I can change a flat, mow a lawn, hang dry wall, trim tree branches, powerwash the house, etc. Then again, my husband can cook better then I can, is generally the only one who scrubs the bathroom, cleans just as often as I do, and is the only one who sews.

His mom raised him to 'be a good wife someday' and my dad wanted me to never have to rely on a man to get things done. So while we're both capable of most things, we trade off on the things we each hate. He hates loading the dishwasher and laundry, I hate scrubbing toliets and unloading the dishwasher. We share most jobs pretty equally and it works for us.

 

[Frantasmic]

It appears that ONLY the oldest male in our household has the magical ability to squish, stomp, kill, remove, or otherwise delete from sight any member of the Hexapoda Class of Animals (bugs).

Said ability also extends to rodentia or reptiles in the yard.

 

[Hercules10]

My wife had never changed a tire until she met me. I showed her how and purchased a larger star lug wrench to make it easier just in case she ever had to. Better to be prepared and not need to then need to and not be prepared.

 

[binny]

yep I can grill, mow the lawn, change light fixtures, repair a lot of stuff... DH calls me Robin Leibler.

I cant change a tire though, mainly due to being allergic to rubber.

 

[suejai]

DH does all the repairs or we hire someone, I'm nervous of power tools. I can bbq but I only do it when DH is away at work - but he is the only one that uses the rotisserie.
DS17 mows the lawn and weed whacks, but he is moving on into the wide world so DH will be holding a workshop soon to initiate DS14 and I into the mysteries of 'lawn maintenance'
As for changing a flat tire, yes I know how: you pick up the phone and dial Roadside Assistance so, in other words, no I can't change a flat, but I do know how to check my oil and other fluids.

What I find though is when DH is away working I can handle most things and am fairly competent; however, once he comes home I become dependent I like to think I do this so that he feels he is still needed and is part of the household.

 

[Praying Colonel]

DW grew up on a farm and knows how to do lots of stuff like changing tires, cutting grass, etc. And what she doesn't know how to do, she's willing to try. She has a real can-do spirit about her that I love.

When it comes to grilling, she'll do it but she defers to me. We each have our strengths and weaknesses, and she's not so hot at grilling. She'll let me grill the steaks and she focuses on dessert, which she's awesome at (and I'm not).

 

[Chicago526]

I can mow the grass (including using the weed wacker) and use the snow thrower. DH doesn't usually "let me" but I do know how and have done it a few times when he's sick or out of town.

I'm better at grilling than dh and often get our charcoal grill started, though he'll do it for me sometimes if I"m busy getting the food ready to grill.

I can hammer nails, use the cordless screw driver/drill, check/add oil and windshield fluid to the car, and change wiper blades and the air filter. I can unclog the vaccuum and change the belt on it if it breaks.

Can't change a tire, not because I don't know how but because I don't think I'm strong enough to lift the tire up and down or even get the lug nuts off. Besides, that's what I pay AAA for!

 

[pat fan]

I do all the lawn mowing (push mower), I paint, I do mud on sheetrock but I've never actually had to hang the sheetrock but I'm sure I could, I split all our firewood this past summer, I do small repairs (drains, sink etc..), I even knocked out a wall this winter break and made a closet into a food pantry....I'm pretty handy

I do NOT do dead things, crawly things or things that scurry. No thank you.I don't do recycling either.

 

[MineMail]

I cook (grill or indoors; doesn't matter), clean (poorly - DH is better) and sew (my forte') but I can also handle the tough guy stuff.

I can do car stuff like flat-fixing, oil changes, and brake pads. I rarely do anymore because I'm lazy, but when I was a starving college student with a long commute, it was vital to save some money.

I handle any kind of "fixit" job around the house that doesn't involve hanging things level. I'm cockeyed, so putting up pictures or shelving is always a disaster, lol. However, I put up the garage hooks and organized the tools.

I stripped, sanded and painted the porch all by myself, floor to roof.
I don't mow (allergic to cut grass) but I do edge and trim the yard.

I put up the deer fence around my garden, put in a raised planting bed, and have been building a rock garden/wall little by little on the side.

I toyed with the idea of building a horseshoe court, but decided it was too big a job for me since it involved big power tools. (Sod cutter, for example.) I do know my limits.

I don't do dead things either, but I'll capture living rodents and relocate them to freedom AWAY from my home. I do handle the midnight vomiting cleanup, including rug cleaning. (A little Vicks Vapo-Rub on your upper lip and the sympathy gagging is greatly reduced.)

 

[Evil Genius]

My dad made sure I could do all that stuff. Change a tire, change the oil in the car, mow the lawn, grill. I also know how to fix/replace a toilet, work on the plumbing, put in new light fixtures, what ever needs to be done in the house.

 

[monkey68]

I live in a city, there's nothing to mow. Can't change a tire either. I got a flat once about 3 blocks away from home, had to call my dad to change it for me. I probably should learn how to do that.