> > > > >ADVICE FROM A RETIRED HUSBAND >>> >>> It is important for men to remember that, as women grow older, it >>>becomes >>>harder for them to maintain the same quality of housekeeping as when they >>>were >>>younger. When you notice this, try not to yell at them. Some are >>>oversensitive, >>>and there's nothing worse than an oversensitive woman. >>> >>> My name is Ron. Let me relate how I handled the situation with my wife, >>>Carol Anne. When I retired a few years ago, it became necessary for Carol >>>Anne >>>to get a full-time job, along with her part-time job, both for extra >>>income and >>>for the health benefits that we needed. Shortly after she started working, >>> >> >> > I noticed she was beginning to show her age. I usually get home from >the golf club about the same time she gets home from work. Although she knows >how hungry I am, she almost always says she has to rest for half an hour or so >before she starts dinner. I don't yell at her. Instead, I tell her to take her >time and just wake me when she gets dinner on the table. > > > I generally have lunch in the Men's Grill at the club, so eating out is >not >reasonable. I'm ready for some home-cooked grub when I hit that door. She used >to do the dishes as soon as we finished eating. But now it's not unusual for >them to sit on the table for several hours after dinner. > > I do what I can by diplomatically reminding her several times each evening >that they won't clean themselves. I know she really appreciates this, as it >does >seem to motivate her to get them done before she goes to bed. > > Another symptom of aging is complaining, I think. For example, she will >say >that it is difficult for her to find time to pay the monthly bills during her >lunch hour. But, Boys, we take 'em for better or worse, so I just smile and >offer encouragement. I tell her to stretch it out over two, or even three >days. >That way, she won't have to rush so much. I also remind her that missing lunch >completely now and then wouldn't hurt her any (if you know what I mean). I >like >to think tact is one of my strong points. > > When doing simple jobs, she seems to think she needs more rest periods. >She >had to take a break when she was only half-finished mowing the yard. I try not >to make a scene. I'm a fair man. I tell her to fix herself a nice, big, cold >glass of freshly squeezed lemonade and just sit for a while. And, as long as >she >is making one for herself, she may as well make one for me, too. > > I know that I probably look like a saint in the way I support Carol Anne. >I'm not saying that showing this much consideration is easy. Many men will >find >it difficult. Some will find it impossible! Nobody knows better than I do how >frustrating women get as they get older. However, Guys, even if you just use a >little more tact and less criticism of your aging wife because of this >article, >I will consider that writing it was well worthwhile. After all, we are put on >this earth to help each other. > > > > > > > > >EDITOR'S NOTE: > Ron died suddenly on February 7 of a perforated rectum. The police report >says he was found with a Calloway extra-long 50-inch Big Bertha Driver II golf >club jammed up his rear end, with barely 5 inches of grip showing, and a >sledge >hammer laying nearby. His wife Carol Anne was arrested and charged with murder. > The all-woman jury took only 10 minutes to find her Not Guilty, accepting >her >defense that Ron, somehow without looking, accidentally sat down on his golf >club. > > > >BY THE WAY, I PLAN TO RETIRE NEXT YEAR. >PROMISE THAT I WILL NOT EVEN THINK OF GOLF. > >REGARDS >
