First of all, Happy Fatherhood Friday. I missed last week, but I'm back on the horse this week. If you haven't checked out the blogs over at Dad Blogs, you are truly missing out. There is some great stuff over there.
OK, so a couple of weeks ago I blogged about what a guy can realistically expect from the SAHM in his life. That post sparked a lot of great comments, and I don't think I really ticked anybody off. I also got a lot of interesting stuff about the whole "nothing but an apron" thing :)
So this week I thought I would flip it around and talk about what a SAHM can realistically expect from the man in her life. Obviously I'm writing this from the guy's perspective, so I'll be interested to see what the women think about this.
First and foremost, I think it is a must that the man RESPECTS his SAHM. This one is pretty much non-negotiable. I don't care how important you think your job is. I don't care how much money you make a year. Nothing is more important than raising your kids. NOTHING! So you better show some respect to the woman that (presumably) put her career and aspirations on hold to raise your kids. It really is the least you can do.
Next, how about some flowers once in a while? Is that so hard to ask? Or maybe dinner out on the town? Check out yesterday's post to get some great deals on gift certificates to local restaurants.
On the same note, SAHMs need a little "me time." At least a couple times a week she should be able to get out of the house and away from the kids to do whatever she wants to do. Whether it's working out, taking a cake decorating class or drinking a glass of wine with a couple of girlfriends, "me time" is terribly important. Just think about how you feel after 2 hours by yourself with the kids. Now multiply that by 4 (and that's assuming you're only away from the house for 8 hours a day) and you'll start to realize how she feels at the end of the day.
And finally, it's not gonna kill you to help out around the house. Do some laundry. Take care of the dishes. Pick up after the kids. When I talked about a guy's expectations for a SAHM, I mentioned that everything has to be flexible. And that' going to require the guy to pick up some slack. Or, just let the laundry go for a couple of days. It's not really the end of the world.
So what did I forget? What else should my wife expect from me?
OK, so a couple of weeks ago I blogged about what a guy can realistically expect from the SAHM in his life. That post sparked a lot of great comments, and I don't think I really ticked anybody off. I also got a lot of interesting stuff about the whole "nothing but an apron" thing :)
So this week I thought I would flip it around and talk about what a SAHM can realistically expect from the man in her life. Obviously I'm writing this from the guy's perspective, so I'll be interested to see what the women think about this.
First and foremost, I think it is a must that the man RESPECTS his SAHM. This one is pretty much non-negotiable. I don't care how important you think your job is. I don't care how much money you make a year. Nothing is more important than raising your kids. NOTHING! So you better show some respect to the woman that (presumably) put her career and aspirations on hold to raise your kids. It really is the least you can do.
Next, how about some flowers once in a while? Is that so hard to ask? Or maybe dinner out on the town? Check out yesterday's post to get some great deals on gift certificates to local restaurants.
On the same note, SAHMs need a little "me time." At least a couple times a week she should be able to get out of the house and away from the kids to do whatever she wants to do. Whether it's working out, taking a cake decorating class or drinking a glass of wine with a couple of girlfriends, "me time" is terribly important. Just think about how you feel after 2 hours by yourself with the kids. Now multiply that by 4 (and that's assuming you're only away from the house for 8 hours a day) and you'll start to realize how she feels at the end of the day.
And finally, it's not gonna kill you to help out around the house. Do some laundry. Take care of the dishes. Pick up after the kids. When I talked about a guy's expectations for a SAHM, I mentioned that everything has to be flexible. And that' going to require the guy to pick up some slack. Or, just let the laundry go for a couple of days. It's not really the end of the world.
So what did I forget? What else should my wife expect from me?
Posts
You have to let her know that you appreciate the things she does with words and actions. And never diminish the importance of her role.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more!
ReplyDeleteWe both work full time so we both need to help out. I drop him off and pick him up from daycare. And because I'm home first, I usually make dinner. I'm also in charge of dishes and the trash.
ReplyDeleteHey...wait a minute. Now that I list it all out like this I'm wondering what the hell my wife does???
But seriously, we have a good balance and that's really the key. Balance.
Well said. You have to do all those things or everyone suffers.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to start forwarding these posts to my hubby...good stuff. =)
ReplyDeleteAmie, you forward this all you want. As long as he's not bigger than me. I'm not really much of a fighter.
ReplyDelete