Happy Wife, Happy Life: Supporting Your Wife in Parenting

Last updated on August 4th, 2023 at 09:21 am

Lily Aldrin in How I Met Your Mother said it best, “In marriage, being right is less important than being supportive. Remember: Happy wife equals happy life.” Now while we all can agree that has a nice ring to it, it’s important that the street goes two ways. Women generally tend to have shorter fuses and are more in tune to our emotions but it doesn’t mean it has to be all about us. But since we are on the subject of happy wife, my husband would tell you he lives by this statement. I have to agree that I’m pretty happy, of course depends on what time of the day you ask I suppose. So, how does one achieve happy wife, happy life?

Not every problem requires a solution

This is one my husband is learning over the years. He always tells me men are problem solvers, so if there is one he is always looking for the solution. After spending all day at home with two 4 year olds I’m sometimes a little high strung by the time he comes home. As I stand there complaining my husband interjects with possible resolutions. At this point I tell him I need to vent, nothing more. A key to happy wife, happy life is the ability to know that she is needing an ear to vent to, nothing more.

Less is more

No long weekend vacation for me! I am always so excited when after a bad day my husband walks through the door with my favorite wine. And nothing is sexier than a man doing the dishes after dinner or when he is folding laundry. Oh Calgon, take me away! Seriously though, the little things like helping with the kids is enough to melt the stress away. When I’ve spent all day house cleaning and wiping rear ends it’s nice when daddy comes in to take over. Happy wife, happy life.

Kids are important, but not everything

Yes, those wonderful offspring bring so much joy to our lives, I couldn’t imagine what I’d do without them. The thing to remember is that one day in the future, those kids won’t be in our house anymore, and who does that leave us with? Our wonderful spouse, who we hope hasn’t felt neglected or pushed aside all these years. My husband and I get the time between when the kids go to bed and we do. While that may not be a lot, we take advantage of that to visit without being interrupted every five minutes. It never has to be anything crazy; our favorite thing is watching our shows with an adult beverage. I don’t want to look at my husband when the kids are gone and wonder who in the world this person is, and what do we do now?

Me time is a necessity

I’m not talking about when you are going to the bathroom or taking a shower. I’m also not talking about weekend getaways, or extravagant trips. My favorite thing to do if time permits is to drive up to the city and do a little window shopping. If I am lucky I may be able to get a mom friend or two and enjoy a happy hour drink. I also am not against getting in the car and driving around town for a bit and enjoying the silence. For motivated individuals, I recently have gotten into group exercise. Nothing beats sweating out the stress and tension. There are endless possibilities to me time and if you have the ability, take it and RUN!

Start with coffee, end with wine

I’ve talked to several parents who don’t drink coffee or wine, or any alcoholic beverage for that matter. That baffles me! I personally don’t understand how parents survive without these two things! Coffee especially, is my fuel to get the morning going and it’s the 30 minutes of my day that my kids know to leave me alone. Trust me, nothing is happening until that first cup has been consumed. After a long day of going from all that caffeine there is nothing like winding down with a glass of wine. These aren’t just beverages; they are an experience, trust me.

Achieving the happy wife, happy life is all about balance. There are days when all is well and everyone is happy but since life gets in the way it isn’t always perfect. There have been days when my husband is in a sour mood so I take up the slack and vice versa. I guess you could say sometimes we have the Good Cop/Bad Cop routine down. But when it all comes down to it, my husband will be the first to say it: if momma is happy, everyone is happy.

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