I learned it from my dog.

I have many incredible friends. I have friends who have so many gifts these people can do anything and do it well. I have friends who are artistic, friends who can decorate their houses with dollar store and garage sale items and their house looks like a magazine cover. I have a few organizer friends. They are able to manage and arrange huge dinners and projects and they don’t even blink at the task. I have a few friends who are doers. I mean they just do and do and do and never get tired. I have friends that are true chefs, real culinary geniuses. While most of us make tacos or meatloaf they are daily creating true culinary delights. I like to cook but I make regular family food, meat loaf, roast beef, spaghetti, baked chicken, etc. I am not very good with Grammer or writing so this should be very interesting. I do envy those who are excellent writers.

I don’t have any of those gifts. I am not artistic at all. All my decorating ideas are stolen from magazines or idea books. I cant even draw a stick figure without having to erase it and make changes. I am average at almost everything except, I am however, a really good wife. I have not always been, but I am now. I am sure at this point many of you are thinking well I would rather be good at something useful like those gifts I described earlier. Well, I would too, but since I can’t be I have chosen to be the very best wife I can.

I have found it to be so much fun trying to be a good wife that I don’t think I’ll ever want to revert back to regular wife. The reason I enjoy being a good wife so much is because its so easy and I love to try to make the man I love happy. I also love being a good wife because I have an evil streak in me. I love to watch women go green when their husbands says to my husband as I hand him a beautifully fixed plate at a BBQ. , “Sally never fixes my plate for me“.

I get simple pleasure out of knowing that a certain husband is going to mention me on the ride home from another friends party.. The conversations from what I have heard from my friends go something like this, “ Did you see Tom?“, Bob questions his wife. “Yes, of course I did what do you mean?” Leanne says Confused. “He never had to get up from his chair all day. “ Bob says with an envious tone. He didn’t have to chase the kids , he didn’t have to go get a refill on his drink or fix his plate.” Yea, Leanne begins with disgust in her throat, well Michele is ridiculous, did you see her kissing him all the time.” Yes, Bob says sensing she was making his point for him. What is wrong with kissing your man every once in awhile. Leanne continues, Well I think its ridiculous, its like she is back in the 50s all she needs is a dress and a bouffant hairdo and she could be Mrs. Cleaver.

Bob shakes his head and continues ,“You think what she is doing is stupid and I think it just shows how much she cares about Tom. You only came over to me once and that was to point out it was my time to watch the kids.” The conversation continues in both of their heads, but no one mentions it again. He is discouraged that she doesn’t get it and she thinks he needs to grow up and realize she is not his mommy.

One of my precious friends once told me that her husband told her that I play Tom like a fine fiddle. I still laugh when I say that phrase, and I am not totally sure what he meant. However, I think we all get the inference.

When I first purposed to be a good wife to Tom, I never even imagined anyone would notice. I certainly do not actually do it to make people notice. I think the reason people, notice is because today so few try to do this. If anyone ever reads this, I am sure most women will think it is a ridiculous premise to desire to make your husband feel like the king of his castle. They would say, "I work too...We are equal and why cant he get his own plate of food...He just wants me to sit on the couch, or go to his baseball game and I have more important things to do then that. You can disagree but I take all my roles seriouly and believe when I stand before God I want him to say I was the best helpmeet I could be.


If by now you think I am pure evil you could be right. But if I was saying that I took pleasure in knowing that people left my home saying I was an incredible cook or decorator you would not think the same way. I am not beautiful or anything special in anyway. I am just a women whose Hobby is to be a enviable wife because she in deeply in love with her husband. OH and here is a great place to add that I am a million miles from perfect. I have a long, long way to go, but I enjoy working on it. Like working on a scrapbook, I enjoy finding a new way to honor Tom in front of others.

This kind of conversation also has happened when we are at couples discussion groups, or bible studies geared to help couples get closer. Sometimes at the end of a gathering when there is just a few people left and were joking about our relationships. Eventually someone begins to complain about the other spouse. It starts jokingly but gets more serious. You can tell that a few of the couples have some serious issues. This is usually when they turn to Tom who has been quiet and ask him if he has the same problems with me. He responds, Actually, No, she is very attentive to my needs, takes great care of our house, she is a great Mom, super wife and I don’t have any complaints.
I not even thinking add to the discussion. Years ago I promised myself Tom would be the King of his castle and I am keeping that promise. Instantly I smell the hatred oozing in my direction from the women who now wishes she had a husband who would say such nice things about her and is sure what I just said was a load of doggie dodo. The husbands of course jumps on the King picture and begin to describe their life. In my house I’m more the court jester then the king. Another man chimes in, In my house there is no King only a Queen and her subjects. Again the topic ends in laughter after a bit more banter, but the tension between unhappy couples is still in the air. You just know they are going to discuss this later one way or another.

Usually after an event like that some wife who really does want to make her man happy, who really does what a contented home comes up to me and asks me my secret. She wants to know what it is I do that causes her husband to occasionally mention Tom and my relationship. She asks me how did you learn to be such a good and attentive wife. I tell her I believe God helps me to be the best keeper of my home and helpmeet because I ask him to help. I tell her that I think it is the key to my real happiness. And then, This is my favorite part, I look at her and I say.. But actually how I learned to be a good was by watching my dog. Excuse me? Sure, I watched dogs! (To be continued)