I know the title of this post is going to give false hope to some women out there, but the fact is, my hubby is not back on the market. It took me too long to find him to give him up now.
Now that we have that cleared up, I can tell you what this post is really about. It's really about getting my husband out of the house. See, Duane is absolutely and totally amazing about me going out and doing things with my friends. He encourages me to have girls' nights out and even watches some of my friends' kids to make that happen. He never gives me a hard time about going out or makes me feel guilty about it. Heck, he's even been the designated driver for us on occasion. He doesn't grump when my mom and I take a day to go shopping or out to dinner. He just smiles and says he hopes we have fun.
Don't tell him, but sometimes I feel a little guilty that I get to go enjoy myself and he rarely takes time to do anything just for him. Duane's the guy that would give you the shirt off his back, the guy that gives up some Saturday mornings to work on a church mission project, but he rarely takes time to hang out with the guys.
All that is changing this year. My brother-in-law invited Duane to play in a poker tournament at his place and Duane readily accepted. It's one night a month for the whole year. Of course, the play on a scout night so I'll be playing Cub Scout mom that night, but it's a small price as long as Duane has fun.
Last night was the first game of the year. I'm not sure I could go hang out with 20 people, 18 of which I didn't know, but it didn't phase Duane at all. He got home around midnight and was practically giddy. He was all smiles and telling stories about a few of the guys he met. Just really happy - which makes me really happy. I know he's already looking forward to playing next month.
And here's my little secret about it - I am determined that these nights are going to be Duane's nights for him to enjoy. I'm not going to call him and ask when he's coming home. I'm not going to text him while he's there. I'm not going to nag him about the time he spends there or ask him to skip any games. I'm going to enjoy seeing the smile on his face when he gets home. I'm going to smile when I hear him laugh while recalling things that happened. As strange as it sounds, it feels like a gift to me too. That's how happy I am that he is doing something for himself that he enjoys.
Think maybe that's one of the secrets of a happy marriage?
No comments:
Post a Comment