Doofy Husbands

Have you ever heard of doofy husbands? They’re the guys in commercials who are always incapable of doing anything around the house. They try to do the laundry, clean a room, or cook a meal, always to hilarious failure. Their long-suffering wives come into the room and shake their heads, then proceed to use whatever product is being shilled to accomplish the task with ease. The concept of doofy husbands is problematic for a couple reasons: it doesn’t give men enough credit, and it perpetuates the idea that men aren’t good at performing many household, traditionally feminine tasks. It implies … Continue reading →

I Need a Hero!

I think it’s safe to say we all enjoy going to the movies and watching the heroes run through flaming fires to rescue the children trapped on the third floor. Our hearts beat faster when the star leaps into the water, swims across a river, and then rejoins his fiancee on her yacht just in time for their engagement party. We might even think we’d like to find a guy just like that. Wouldn’t it be something to find a man who could fight his way through a crowd of spies, ride a horse like there’s no tomorrow, rappel down … Continue reading →

What Type of Man Do You Want?

Is your man a gentleman and is that what you want? Let me give you an example of what I mean. Yesterday at school my husband opened the door and held it open for a young woman struggling with a baby in a pram. And you know what? I’m glad he did. I’m glad he treats women with courtesy and respect and I told him so. In his eyes he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. Because that’s he way he is. But it still doesn’t hurt, to let him know I think it’s good. I’ve noticed some men … Continue reading →

Would You Let Your Husband Iron His Own Shirt?

Would you let your husband iron his own shirt? Even as I write those words I can hear some woman, particularly of the older generations, reel in shock at the mere suggestion of such a thing. I have a friend around my age, who has the theory if it needs to be ironed it doesn’t get bought. She only buys clothes which can be washed and hung up and then put on or put away in the closet. Okay, I admit I don’t go quite that far. But I am a big fan of skirts that only need washing, twisting … Continue reading →

What I Learned From My Husband

Are you a person who has difficulty saying ‘no’ when asked to do something or go somewhere you don’t want to go? Do you end making all sorts of excuses about why you can’t do whatever it is you are being asked to do? Then this is the blog for you. I used to be like that. I used to let other’s expectations get in the way and at times tie me up in knots. And then I watched my husband handle a similar situation and realized he never had the problems I did. If asked to do something he … Continue reading →

A Wedding Ring for Your Man?

Trends come and go in marriage as they do in other aspects of life. In my parent’s generation, the men never wore wedding rings. If you look around at many elderly men you will see few wedding rings. By the time we Mick and I married there was so starting to change. Yet, even in my husband’s age group one time I looked around the guys we were with, some of whom were a few years younger than us, and Mick was he only man wearing a wedding ring. Mick is not one for wearing jewelry apart from his watch, … Continue reading →

Appreciating Your Spouse’s Friendships

Last night as we sat down to dinner, the phone rang. We had a long day out wrapping up the Christmas shopping and doing a huge bulk session of grocery shopping to fill our freezer and be prepared for the coming winter months when getting out of the driveway is sometimes impossible. Needless to say, the kids were tired, hungry and cranky, and I had just dropped a box of organize shelf-stable chocolate milk on my toes, trying to get it down the basement stairs. So, my first instinct was to ignore the phone, but my husband got to it … Continue reading →

Obnoxious Husbands

Are any of your girlfriends married to obnoxious husbands? Or do you ever run across couples while you’re out and about and witness an exchange between them that makes you think, “Wow. That guy’s really obnoxious. How does she put up with him?” I have a couple of friends who are married to husbands who would be too much for me. They’re nice enough guys, and they love their wives to pieces (which is how I’ve determined my friends put up with them), but I couldn’t do it. My personality would clash with theirs. Because of my experiences with my … Continue reading →

The Dear Abby from a Distraught Widower

Yesterday Jade sent me an email with this enticing subject line: “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” At first I thought she was sending me some info about people wanting to get married who wouldn’t be able to for very much longer for one reason or another. Maybe because a popular marriage destination was closing or something. (Not that I know of anything like that happening anywhere. That’s just the conclusion I jumped to.) But, oh no, it was nothing innocuous like that. It was a link to Yahoo! News and a Dear Abby column posted there on Sunday … Continue reading →

Men: The Weaker Sex?

Before I begin, I just want to say that, even though the title might suggest otherwise, this article isn’t intended to be a slam against men. Rather, it’s just some reflections on things I’ve seen regarding boyfiends and husbands over the past 10 years during my stint as a stay-at-home wife. Not that I’ve had all sorts of relationships with other men. But I’ve had lots and lots of talks with my women friends. It was when I was living in Jacksonville that I noticed a pattern forming where our husbands were concerned. And ever since I noticed it, I … Continue reading →