Division of labor in CIS relationships has been a hot topic of conversation lately, as couples everywhere realize that, in a bulk of them, the women are doing exponentially more work.

OP is a man with a girlfriend who loves to get up before she has to just to make herself a hearty breakfast.

I (27m) have been living with my girlfriend (29f) for several months now. For the most part things are really good and I plan to propose soon and hopefully have at least a couple of kids with her.

However we’ve run up against a conflict.

She’s an absolute morning person.

She likes a huge breakfast in the morning. She usually has eggs, either French toast or pancakes, hashbrowns or breakfast potatoes, and sausage or bacon. Sometimes on weekends it’s ham or steak.

She eats almost nothing for lunch and usually has a smallish dinner but she loves a huge breakfast.

He hates mornings, so he sleeps until the last possible minute, has a shower and a bowl of cereal, and then out the door.

I hate mornings. By the time I force myself out of bed in the morning and into the shower she’s already been up for at least 30 minutes–even though she has to be at work later than I do–and is at the stove making breakfast.

Meanwhile I only ever have cold cereal for breakfast, or MAYBE if I’m feeling really ambitious some instant oatmeal and orange juice. I only even start to come alive halfway through my second cup of coffee and definitely don’t feel like cooking in the morning.

Her breakfasts sure do look good, though, so he asked whether or not she might be willing to make him some, too.

However my girlfriend obviously does. So recently I asked her if she’d start making breakfast for me, too.

She asked whether he was going to make breakfast sometimes, too.

He said no.

She asked if we were going to trade off and if I’d sometimes make breakfast for her, too.

I told her “no” but reminded her that I do often make dinner for her.

She said that since we trade off making dinner we should trade off making breakfast, too.

I told her that there is no way I’ll ever be able to muster that kind of energy first thing in the morning, but that since she obviously can that she should just make me breakfast too.

She asked whether he was going to pick up more slack anywhere else in exchange.

I said that it would take next to no extra effort on her part to throw in a couple more eggs, strips of bacon, an extra portion of hashbrowns, etc since she’s already doing it for herself, anyway. But it started a fight, with her saying that it wasn’t fair for me to expect her to think of me in the morning since I don’t do the same for her.

She seems to think that her making breakfast for me should figure into our division of labor and that I should do something extra in return.

He said no, because making breakfast for two instead of one really isn’t much more work.

But I think that since she makes a huge breakfast for herself every morning anyway that throwing an extra portion of whatever she’s making on for me would take next-to no effort on her part, so why should I have to do more for her in return than I already do?

Now he’s wondering whether he’s a jerk for wanting the morning yummies without giving up anything in return.

Let Reddit at him!

The top comment couldn’t help but laugh – at, not with.

People were full of suggestions as to what OP should have said.

And it didn’t even have to be cooking, if that’s not his thing.

Plenty of people are predicting the girlfriend is not going to take this argument lightly.

Because really, it’s about just making a dang effort, right?

You can’t get something for nothing, after all.

I’m surprised OP hasn’t learned that by this point in his life.