$138,000.00 Ladies! $138,000.00!!!!

[WriterofWords]

Thank you.

 

[Oblio13]

My wife and I get along so well because we both agree that I married well above my station in life.

I swore I'd never get married a second time. I still think it's a foolish thing for a successful man to do, that the government shouldn't even be in the marriage business, that it's an archaic religious ceremony thankfully fading away, yada, yada, yada. But ... never say never. Now, after years of trial-and-error experience, I can share with you the secret of success.

My wife's ten years younger than me and looks like a movie star. (People are always telling me my daughter is gorgeous.) She has two college degrees and thinks circles around me. She could have been a stand-up comic. She exercises so much and is so fit that I'm a little bit scared of her. She brought more money into the marriage than I did. She loves to cook, hates to shop, and doesn't talk unless she has something to say. When people meet us, their natural reaction is "What is SHE doing with YOU?!" and my honest answer is "My dumb luck and her poor judgement."

Anyway here it is, the simple secret to marital happiness: Marry someone younger, nicer, smarter, wealthier, prettier, and more educated than you. What could be easier? I don't know why people seem to have trouble with it.

 

[joebryant]

If I had it to do over, my first wife would have been super-rich, stupid, and generous to a fault. After I took her for all her money, I'd've divorced her and lived happily ever after with a prenuptial agreement with a gorgeous, well-built wife who saw me as the god that I am.

 

[wegotchickens]

Thank you, gentlemen, for bringing some playfulness back into this thread.
(yes, Oblio & JoeBryant, I am referring to you when I say gentlemen)

 

[smom1976]

Quote:
YES!!!!!

 

[dacjohns]

Maybe we're henpecked.

Good points Andrew but if you go back and reread the posts by the males I think you'll see why we haven't said those things.

 

[tntstanifer]

Quote:
Andrew,
You make some good points. I agree with most of it. I know my hubby has a lot of stress "bringing home the bacon". I was not a stay at home mom until we had little kids. I've had my share of working one or two jobs at a time and worrying about paying the bills and worrying about job security PLUS being a single parent. I was layed off while being a single parent and things got tough, but I worked part-time and did eBay along with my unemployment to make ends meet. You do what you have to do and stressing about it doesn't help. I don't agree with your statements : "I'm very specifically saying she should do exactly his job... with no preparation, training, prior experience, etc. Isn't this very similar to "throwing" a man into being a stay at home mom?"
There are no similarities. A Dad DOES have preparation, training & prior experience with his children. Maybe not as much as the SAHM, but if he is a good Dad, he'll spend as much time with the kids as possible at night and on weekends. So, no, I don't see how you can compare that way. Other than that, I sure hope your wife appreciates what you do. It's important that SAHM's appreciate the "sacrifices" that EVERYONE makes so that she can stay home. But it's so worth it in the end!

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
If you guys were talking from the heart like Andrew did you'd have nothing to fear from the women here, that's what we do all the time between each other, talk from the heart. That opens you up, though, it's scary to be open and speak of what bothers you, delve into how you feel, bringing your feelings out for others to see - and for you to see and explore, too. It seems as though that's what scares men away from sharing feelings, it's too exposing.

Just my thoughts, no offense intended to anyone!

 

[warcard]

I'm not a SAHM. I work, in fact I have been the primary provider in my family since the beginning. I don't have kids (little ones at least, just one big one people insist on calling a husband

).

Andrew, yes work is stressful, yes you can be fired for not performing to your bosses standards, but at the end of the day you go home and take a break. A SAHM/D doesn't get a break, their job is 24/7, and if it is their first child they don't have any experience either. Their job can be just as stressful. As you say maybe things can fall by the wayside, but what about when the 'working' parent comes home and says 'why didn't x get done' and maybe the yelling starts, is it any less stressful than when you get yelled at by your boss? Especially since this is someone they have formed an emotional attachment to unlike you and your boss.

Both sides of this debate have stress, the key is to talk, the problem is when one party is unwilling to talk. Then vent threads like this happen. Its been show that it's bad to keep emotions bottled up. Hopefully this thread helps people release some tension and go back to their lives a little less stressed.

 

[thechickenchick]

warcard Thank you. You put into words what I couldn't seem to. The fact that you are not SAHM and can still understand makes us SAHMs appreciate what you said even more.. I have only been one for a year. That is only due to the fact that my son was in an accident that almost killed him and he has some permanent physical and mental difficulties now. However for the first 12 years of his life I worked full time and for 9 of those as a single Mom. I understand the stress of a boss and being told what to do as well. That doesn't mean there is no stress in what I do now. I appreciate my husband and what he does very much. He is the first to defend me when people imply that I am lazy because I don't have a "job". If it weren't for him going to work every day I would not have this oppurtunity to be here for my son when he needs me the most. In turn he notices and appreciates what I do as well. I think that is the main thing. Pay attention to what you have and to what you do for each other. Just like Warcard said. The key is to talk, the other is to listen.