Most of us remember the movie City Slickers. It is a great movie about some restless middle age guys from the city who find themselves on a cattle drive in the great Southwest. The defining moment in the movie plays out between Curly (the old cowboy/sage) and Mitch (the lovable bumbling “city slicker”) After Mitch complains about his marriage and life in general, Curly asks the question… Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger] Curly: This. Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean anything* (edit). Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?” Curly: [smiles] That’s what *you* have to find out. WELL, at the risk of sounding like a simpleton…here…I believe…it is that “ONE THING”: Drumroll please……. (wait for it…..) A HUSBAND SHOULD “SET HIS WIFE APART”! HUH? That’s it? Yep…THAT’S IT! I am convinced that the key to a good marriage starts with the HUSBAND SETTING HIS WIFE APART as UNIQUE AMONG EVERY OTHER WOMAN ON THE PLANET! Practical ways to “set her apart”…

1. “Be NICER, more patient, and more thoughtful of towards your wife than you are to your secretary!” Don’ t laugh…I have watched men shower their secretary with praise and their wives with critique. It is ridiculous but common.
2. Never compare your wife UNFAVORABLY to anyone else….EVER! Even if she says she “doesn’t mind” or she insists it is “ok”. By the way, every time you say that another woman is pretty, sexy or hot…(even in jest) you are “killing” your wife.
3. Never speak a harsh word TO your wife in public…ever! It destroys trust, security and will build resentment towards you. You become the enemy.
4. No one else is your wife……. so don’t treat anyone with the same deference or emotional closeness that you give your wife. She should be the one you talk to. She does not understand you… make her understand.
5. Study your wife…what are the things that are important to her? What are her dreams? Do you know?