On January 8, 2022, Canadian politician Jon Reyes woke up and looked outside. He saw his wife, Cynthia Reyes, shoveling snow in the driveway. Instead of going outside to help her, he took a picture and posted it on Twitter along with the text, “Even after a 12 hour night shift at the hospital last night, my wife still has the energy to shovel the driveway. God bless her and all our frontliners. Time to make her some breakfast.”

Even after a 12 hour night shift at the hospital last night, my wife still has the energy to shovel the driveway. God bless her and all our frontliners. Time to make her some breakfast. 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/91vahySLqO

— Jon Reyes (@jonreyes204) January 8, 2022

Jon and Cynthia never expected the tweet to go viral, and they certainly didn’t expect the negative comments on the tweet. Many people felt that Jon should have gone outside and helped his wife shovel snow instead of just taking her picture.

I don’t know what’s worse. Her having to do this with you inside. Her having to do this after a 12 hr shiftHer doing this while you watch. Her doing this while you cook eggs over easy I think you taking a pic and posting all of the above is worst. Yea. That takes the cake

— The Fit Nurse (@Denita_fit) January 9, 2022

Why didn’t YOU do it? And if you legitimately cannot for some reason, why don’t you pay someone to do it for you so she can come home to a clean driveway and go straight to bed? What is wrong with you?

— THEE Virago-a-go-go 22 Skidoo🎆🖖🏻🍩♓🐟🐇💛😷🕎🐊 (@ViragoX) January 9, 2022

Yet, not everyone thought the post was horrible. A few people pointed out that she might like shoveling snow, especially after what was probably a stressful 12-hour shift.

Don’t be ridiculous. I know from the kind of job that I used to have that sometimes that hard grunt work is exactly what you need to get out your frustration and clear your mind. You’re way too Judgmental @VABVOX … a lot.

— sparklecitygirl (@sprklcitygirl) January 9, 2022

As a wife who virtually always shoveled snow. Maybe she enjoys doing it. Maybe she wants to burn off a bad shift. Maybe they take turns. Mostly, it’s not our business why. I think it’s fabulous that he’s showing that he appreciates her and is making breakfast. Real men do that.

— Julia (@juliagrace0359) January 9, 2022

Cynthia took to Facebook to explain the story behind the picture and why she is in no way mad at her husband. In fact, she wrote, “I am grateful that he appreciates what I do and that he loves me and shows it publicly, this is nothing new. I am proud that he is unapologetically himself.”

According to Cynthia, she “just wanted to Shovel!” It’s as simple as that, but she goes into more detail. She explained that when she arrived home after a 12-hour shift, it was early Saturday morning, and her family was still asleep. She wrote, “As I pulled up to my driveway, I felt energy to shovel the snow that fell all night and into the morning. As many Manitobans and Canadians know, it’s a great workout, it allowed me to unwind, it’s refreshing after having worn an N95 mask almost the entire night, the weather was mild and it was quiet and peaceful.” She added, “Most importantly, I enjoy it.”

Cynthia’s shoveling woke up her husband, who took a picture and made her breakfast. She thought this was sweet and thoughtful. She pointed out that if the roles were reversed, the tweet probably wouldn’t have gone viral. She wrote, “To us as a family we share different chores not based on any gender; but mostly on who is available to do it.” She added, “Jon loves cooking and I love shovelling and vice versa, it’s really not a big deal!”

In addition to clarifying why she was shoveling the snow, Cynthia also used her post as an opportunity to add a word of caution about social media. She wrote, “First of all, don’t believe everything that you read or hear about in social or mainstream media; secondly, read past the headline; and to know the whole story before passing judgement.”

Do you like to shovel snow? Do you think this post about shoveling snow would have gone viral if a man were the one shoveling snow instead of a woman?