Years ago, I asked my husband why he loves me and he said, ” I love the way you make me feel about myself.” Do you make your husband feel good about himself?

Sometimes it seems as women, we get a bad deal. Afterall, most women seem to be working and caring for children (or their parents) and their homes. Most men seem to come home from work and usually their day is about over. We run into the house, fix a meal, take care of the kids and laundry and dishes and whew…I am exhausted thinking about it. My kids are grown, so my life is a little simplier.

My husband is great…considerate, loving, hardworking and so many more adjectives like those. But, he doesn’t like to do housework unless he has to do it. I only work part-time and I make sure I am home to have dinner almost ready when he walks in the door.

See, my husband is smart. He compliments me about how delicious my meals are and how great it is to have dinner waiting for him when he walks in the door. And I can’t tell you how many times he looks down at his plate of food and it is so colorful and hot …. and he says “I wonder what the peasants are eating tonight.” I know he feels like a King. That is how I want him to feel. Spoiled rotten, loved and taken care of. He may not be “Brad Pitt” but he is the man I love and I don’t want any cute little secretary tempting my husband to stray. I think I make him happy and I know he makes me happy.

Forget all that women’s lib stuff when you get home from work. Treat your husband like a King and he will treat you like his Queen. My husband will massage my feet while we are watching tv and that’s better than flowers or candy or jewelry to me.

After dinner, we take time to sit on the porch and talk about our day or sometimes, I get him to do a small project for me outside. We don’t have cable tv and that is a blessing because I am afraid we would both be couch potatoes.

I think it is so important to laugh together, too. I was married previously and divorced and I can’t ever remember laughing much in that marriage. Not even in the beginning. Everything was always so serious. Have fun, laugh at yourself, laugh together.

Be gentle with your criticisms. Encourage each other. Be a good listener. Kiss your husband when he comes home from work and take time to make him know you are glad to see him even though your day at work was probably just as tough as his. He is coming home to his Castle, his refuge, his safe place. Make sure you are making it a place he wants to come home to. Always say I love you before you fall asleep. You will be amazed at how you will be rewarded. If you didn’t start doing this when you first married, it may take awhile to reap the rewards. So if you are newly married, start doing those things now.

So in closing, if you want your husband to treat you better, treat him “special” and communicate your needs in a nice way. I remember some preaching years ago that basically said, a man needs to be respected and a woman needs to be loved. Works for me.