Friday, January 8, 2010

Best Marriage Advice

I remember early in my marriage (within the first year) cringing when I watched my husband load (or unload – can't remember which) the dishwasher. At one point, I had an epiphany. The thought came to me, "if I want him to help, I can't be picking at HOW he does things." I don't doubt in my mind that was a Divine revelation of sorts!

I will be honest, God has blessed me with a wonderful husband. He's a caring, responsible, fun man. As a father, he's amazing, and he's domesticated, too! ;-) Yes, my friends, my wonderful hubby cooks, cleans, changes diapers, etc. He does it all – we BOTH do it all. (Well, I don't cook if I can avoid it, but that's beside the point.)

While I'll admit that some of how I got here was luck of the draw – and/or Divine leading, I think there's more to it. I think that while who we end up with is important, I think our attitudes and actions can make a huge difference.

You wanna know what I think is the best marriage advice ever? It's simple: don't micromanage. You know what I mean – don't insist he do everything YOUR way. He's NOT YOU, and he doesn't work the same way as you. Allow him to do things HIS WAY. If you can't stand it, LEAVE the room. Don't say anything. Just go. Seriously.

Think about it. How would you feel if you were trying to help someone out with something and they were too concerned about HOW you were doing it to be grateful that you're doing it in the first place? Be honest. You KNOW you wouldn't like it. And, it seems to me, it would DISCOURAGE you from helping out like that in the future. Don't you think our husbands feel the same way?

When your husband helps out around the house, don't pick at how he does it. Don't pick at what he does wrong. Don't give him ANY idea how much it "hurts" to watch him do it "wrong" – just thank him. Smile when you thank him, and make sure he knows you truly are grateful.

This also applies to when he's caring for the kids. Men are wired differently, and chances are he won't do things the same way you would. There's nothing wrong with how he's doing things, so long as no one gets hurt – well, at least none of the kids. ;-) Be grateful, make sure he knows you're grateful, and count your lucky stars!

So, I challenge you. The next time your husband helps out, BE POSITIVE. NO NEGATIVITY ALLOWED! After that, keep it up! Enough positive feedback from you, and I bet you'll find him more willing – or at least less reluctant – to help out!

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5 comments:

Stephi said...

<3 Awesome post!

ham1299 said...

Thank you! <3

denise said...

Great post. And so true! Thanks for the reminder.

Connie said...

I try so hard not to do this. I feel so much better when I just let it go.

Thanks for the reminder!

ham1299 said...

Thanks, ladies!

Connie ~ That is so true! I feel much better when I'm not worrying over HOW he's helping, too.

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