Monday, February 11, 2013

My Tips

A friend of mine actually asked me how my marriage works. I thought it was a bit odd considering my husband and I have only been married for 6 years. Although I also felt blessed to be asked that because it meant that she looked at our marriage as something to aspire to. You see, she recently became engaged herself and was looking for some advice/words of wisdom/tips. I found myself really thinking about it because it was my first time answering a question like that and I wanted it to be honest and insightful. So with Valentine's Day around the corner, I have love on my mind and I thought I'd write out my tips here for you all to see as well!

1) My husband is the king of my household. This means, for the most part, I believe in serving my husband and taking care of him. He works very hard and provides for our family so I don't mind cutting up his steak at night or bringing him some ice cream.

2) I have a job but I am responsible for maintaining our home as well. I do all of the laundry, 90% of the cooking, 90% of the cleaning, running errands, taking care of appointments, etc.

3) Sex. Men in general express their love for a woman through sex. Therefore they feel loved when they are receiving it as well. I keep my husband happy in the bedroom which leads to a much happier marriage. I think it's important to make time for sex and it's important to keep it spicy and interesting.

4) Communicate with one another/listen to one another. I tell my husband everything. Let it be known that if you tell me a secret, you should assume my husband will know as well. I think that's fair and I assume the same with my friends and their significant others. I tell my husband if I need him to be more romantic a certain month, or if I need to reconnect. I tell him if I need a few hours to myself or if I need help with a project. We communicate with one another which means our needs get met and we can be there for one another without having to guess what the other one needs.

5) Express love, gratuity and praise him. I send my husband texts, messages, whispers etc every so often to tell him I love him, I am grateful for him, I am proud of him and that he's a wonderful husband. Men won't come out and say "I need reassurance that I am a good man". When I say things like this to my husband I know he appreciates it and it makes him feel special. When a man says "Thank you for everything that you do for this family" doesn't it make your day? I know it makes mine.

6) Pick and choose your battles. Seriously, I learned this early on and thank goodness I did. My husband and I argue like every other couple out there. However, when we do it is almost always about something worthy of an argument. We rarely ever argue about petty things because it won't get us anywhere. We've come to accept each other's little annoying habits or pet peeves (biting nails, leaving socks on the ground in the living room, who brushed the dog's teeth). If we argued about something that made us roll our eyes every time we would be miserable.

7) Flirt with your husband. I think a lot of people forget to continue doing this when they get married because they already got the man. But something as simple as winking at him during a party, or tickling him, blowing him a kiss, can make you both feel like newlyweds!

8) Be feminine. I love sweats as much as the next girl and when I'm home that's what I wear. However when we go out I make sure to get dolled up. Nothing crazy fancy but I wear a cute outfit, make up and do my hair. This also includes upkeep with grooming ladies!

9) Laugh together! My husband is the second funniest person I know, I'm the first! We love going to comedy clubs, watching funny movies or just sitting at home laughing. After we laugh together we always cuddle and it brings us together.

10) Be grateful you found him. I literally thank God every day for sending me my husband. I don't take him for granted and I appreciate every moment we spend together. This doesn't mean you need to shout how grateful you are through the roof tops. But definitely be grateful.

Thanks for reading. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your loved ones.
EMM