50+ hour work weeks-I was drained! Coming home after midnight most nights, and on nights I was physically home before midnight, I was mentally absent. My brain recalled the checklist of things to still do. Exhausted from years of company dedication and hustling to move up the corporate ladder, I fumbled with my keys in the dark. I gently unlocked our apartment door, took one step in and saw twinkling lights on a decorated Christmas tree. Tears streamed down my face as I looked at the tree. In the next room Gabe was asleep and I knew it was time for a change. Wife Life advice-prioritize your husband!
That was our second Christmas as newlyweds. I had been so busy working that we had not put up a tree (or any other decoration). It was less than a week before Christmas, & mentally I had told myself there was no use-it would be time to take down as soon as it came up. But my amazing husband surprised me! He had spent that particular night putting up a wonderfully decorated Christmas tree, so that I could have the tradition that was so close to my heart. Although Christmas decorations was not his childhood tradition, he knew it had been a favorite of mine. I cannot tell you anything else about that Christmas season because I was so overworked-but I will never forget my husband’s love, and how I felt in that moment. He showed me I was his priority, even though I was “too busy” for anything else.
Prioritizing your husband may seem like a no-brainer to a newlywed! BUT it can be a struggle for a mom with a newborn, or a regret of a wife that has been married for half a century. It can be hard sometimes to prioritize your husband & your marriage. It is not like wives plan to stop prioritizing after we say, “I Do”. The everyday normality often weighs on us. It makes it very easy to get caught up in our daily routines so that we misplace our priorities! I could have easily tried to justify my actions (and on a subconscious level I was doing just that). Gabe knew I was a workaholic before he married me, I actually believe that my drive is one of his favorite things about me. But just because I was addicted to my work-life, did not give me permission to not prioritize my husband.
The thought that we have the rest of our life with our husband, is very deceptive. What kind of wife life are we living if we keep thinking that we have tomorrow, when we do not choose to prioritize him today?
Making our husband a priority is not always the easiest, but it is the one that I believe has less regret. The more I prioritize my husband, the stronger our marriage grows, creating a strong foundation, and memories that will last a life time!
Curious on if you prioritize your husband? Here are some thought starting questions you can ask yourself to determine-
I prioritize treating my husband better than I treat our friends and guests?
I prioritize taking an interest in his day?
I prioritize learning about his dreams?
I prioritize effective listening to what he has to say?
I prioritize speaking his love language? (Learn your love language Here!)
Want a fun idea on how to show him monthly he is a priority? Check out my post One Year of Dating My Husband.
Photo Credit: Claire Waite Photography
