STAYING IN LOVE –
Mar. 20, 2026 – Upon the rarest of occasions (okay maybe weekly), my wife gets a little tweaked at me. I don’t know what I did, my head is buried in a book or the computer, I’m an innocent by-sitter. But I listen to her complaint du jour and give her a chance to share (read: vent) her feelings. Why do I (and the rest of us in happy marriages) put up with it?
1. Emotional support. She is my cheerleader as well as my shoulder to cry on when I don’t win the big game. She knows my wounds and triggers and avoids them because she can talk to me in a way that makes me feel loved. The knowledge that I will always and in all ways have her unconditional support gives me the strength to take on the world.
2. Honest advice. I don’t know it all, and she comes from a very different perspective, so her input has made me do things differently. And the results are good. Her advice is never brutal or a putdown; she does it with kindness.
3. Unexpected niceties. I had a therapist’s version of hell week at a workshop I went to recently. It was a ten-hour day capped off with a four-hour drive. But when I finally got home, my wife had my favorite dinner ready. I showered, ate, and she made me rest the whole next day.
