HOW TO BE A 'GOOD WIFE'

Hello my dears and welcome back :) Today I felt inspired to write about the 'wifey material' stuff, what our mamas and grandmamas and occasionally aunties taught us while we were growing up because now that I'm here, the view is hella different lol.
Pardon the million quotes, by the way, it's just that type of day....
So anyway, apparently it's a thing to be the very best female out there so that you can get a mate for life, never mind if he wasn't taught anything by his papa and grandpapa on how to be a good husband because, well, that's your job....
......eyeroll here..... or not, that's rather ratchet behavior I've heard.
I'm making lots of allusions and stuff, but I will try and stay objective, of course I won't buy into the stereotypes and all, but will give my unfiltered view of the tips and tricks (that's what they really are, honey) that so called good wives employ in order to keep that status. Keep in mind, however, that this is not an instruction manual or holy grail, more like a cheat sheet, so there's a chance you may get caught, or things won't really go according to plan so for whatever it's worth, here we go...

THOU SHALT BITE THY RAZOR TONGUE
Until it bleeds, if necessary lol. It is a well known fact that women can talk, and this is even more true for when they are angry but beware for loose tongues sink ships, apparently ...
Anyway, my mother told me that her father, a salty army-man, told her as she was preparing to get married, that words are like arrows, and the mouth is the bow. You need to know that just as it is impossible to stop a flying arrow once you have released it, you also can't catch words after you say them, and even if you regret it and apply a salve and bandages on the wound so caused, the damage will be done and prevention is better than cure at this point.
So whenever you're in a heated argument in a moment of passion, try and cool yourself down, and talk when you are calm because once you let your emotion have access to your words, it becomes a slippery slope down to the gutters and you don't want to spoil a potentially good thing with some careless words, true though they may be.

ALWAYS BE THE FIRST TO APOLOGIZE
This one is closely tied in with the first lesson, but is still a bit different, because at the end of the day, careful though you may be, hurt will occur and then the simmering emotions will remain waiting for some action or other. At this juncture, you become the bigger man (woman), suck it up, and apologize for whatever it was. This will save you lots of pent up anger, and potentially even stop grudges from being born because we all know men are like pineapples - tough and prickly on the outside, but soft and mushy on the inside so just swallow your pride and take the jump.
For your efforts, you will be crowned Miss Polite and because it's never fun being around someone who just folds over and apologizes when in an argument or fight, he will soon stop trying to fuel the fire by engaging you in fights or even picking them out of thin air, all the better for you.

BE PATIENT

Strive to learn patience before the kids get here, because then it will be a very steep uphill climb to juggle them and their tantrums, sleeplessness, moods and general bad behavior from all corners and remain sane. Be patient through everything that you come across and trust me, practice makes perfect so go on.
When he's in a bad mood, be patient, when he's going through a rough economic patch, be patient, when he's taking five decades to respond to the simple inquiry of what he wants to have for dinner (because you need some ideas after making the decision for three months straight), be patient. Make this your song and its chorus, and the only thing you should not be patient with at any level is physical abuse because once it starts it just gets worse by the second.

BE SUPPORTIVE
You need to be his manager, his coach, his number one fan, and his caretaker and nurse all rolled into one, because while he's out and about he encounters lots of opposition and negativity, and when you make the home environment the positive to counter all the negative he gets, he will surely love coming home to you. This may or may not work though, because there is a bizarre breed of men nowadays who respond negatively to love, the more you love and support them, the worse grade of dog they become. These ones love drama, and you will never miss them in public harassing waitresses, checking out every female that passes by, and chatting up a hundred girls online, mostly girls that don't have anything better to do or those that are also chatting with a hundred boys lol.

RESPECT HIM
I think that this would be the biggest  blow to your good wife card, and understand that no man, no matter how unemployed, how bullied, how insignificant in society, how short, or how broke can take disrespect for a long time, especially from his life companion. So respect him, with your words and with your actions, even when fighting do so respectfully because disrespect demoralizes him and a demoralized man is prone to lots of strange and bad behaviors.


LISTEN TO HIM
Now there's a difference between listening to hear and listening to respond, and the first is the better kind of listening- the kind that you also expect from him. Everyone loves a good listen every now and then, sometimes not even to brainstorm and share experiences, other times it just feels good to vent and have someone listen attentively, agreeing where necessary and frowning when needed. So be his listening ear, and he will definitely let you into his life by telling you his daily adventures and ideas and dreams, and you can also do the same eventually.



SHOW HIM THAT YOU LOVE HIM
There's this really old song called 'More than words' sung by a duo called 'Extreme', and it goes along the lines of  using actions to express love for the other, not just words. It's important to show love to your partner, by random acts of thoughtful kindness, a kiss here and a peck there, because actions do speak louder than words. Express it to him and let him know you're thinking of him now and then, and also find a way to tell him to reciprocate because it will add to the general goodness of your relationship.


DO NOT BE TOO NEEDY AND INSECURE

Nothing is a bigger turn off than a woman who is always scowling at those she thinks are better off than her, or look better than her. A woman who is constantly suspicious of all females around her man, including his relatives, and is always sulking about how her man doesn't love her or he spends too much time with or talking with other females, will soon push her spouse away. It's exhausting af always trying to prove your love and justify yourself to someone who is hell bent on not believing you, so just stop it, especially if the claims are unsubstantiated. If you feel the love is gone and you cannot bring it back just swallow your pride, do yourselves both the favor of a lifetime, and leave.

DO NOT BE JUDGMENTAL

Everyone needs to be themselves in order to feel good and satisfied so the best kind of person anyone will want to be around is one who will be accommodating. When he tells you something that is potentially damaging or sensitive for him; something that he clearly thought long and hard before sharing with you, or you just stumbled on him, don't laugh and point and giggle and be a child about it. Listen and as long as it's something that does not cause harm, live with it, and obviously do not stoop to the very low level of gossiping about it with your 'friends'; do they even tell you about their funny and secret relationship issues?

KEEP HIM FULFILLED
This applies to spiritually, mentally, physically, and in all other ways, and sooner or later, he will reciprocate it if he is not already doing it. Even if he doesn't, be the bigger person and do it, your repayment will be done in full before you leave this earth..... The old reggae song sang that a hungry man is an angry man and this could not be more true and also, sexual frustration has been linked to depression (apparently hehe) so do not contribute in the creation of angry, mental psychos with no morals....




LEARN TO LET THE LITTLE THINGS GO
Finally, let the small things slide (I'm not talking about about the kids lol). Most times you find yourself twisted into something unrecognizable over something he did, like leave the socks in the living room on the couch for the trillionth time and honestly, they're not nuclear atoms so just understand that you will have to do so for the rest of your life. If for some reason or other that can't be you, then just leave because either way it's never that serious ☺️☺️☺️.

I am aware that many modern women will be up in arms over this, but just take it or leave it; it's simply a way to make your life easier and that much more fulfilling and at the end of the day, practicing these things will make you a better person all round and there is some joy that is always deep down in any nice person.

Until next time, keep it foxxy, and stay smiling my dears; chao!!
Also read it here!

                                                                    XOXO

YOLO

A Happy New year to all of you my foxy mamis!! And I do hope that a wonderful and successful season awaits you ahead.
A million apologies for my very long absence, but I was chasing paper on trade fairs and only now settled down a bit. I absolutely had to get something written as the pressure was building to dangerous levels.....

So I have to warn you in advance that today's piece is a bit different in taste from what I normally write, though this is in no way to say I have run out of drama - quite the contrary actually haha....

We started the year on a sad note though, with the attack in Westlands Riverside area, in which 14 unfortunate souls lost their lives. It was a senseless war waged by confused people against innocent civilians and it served to sober us to the reality of how fickle life is for each one of us. 

Maybe this inspired the feelings I'm having, or maybe it's the general flow of events in the past few months, or even just hours, but whatever the case, here's the note on which I ended my day...

I remembered my mom last year telling me of a friend of hers who had lost her husband of a long time, and who she used to argue with every minute. My mum said the two were always at each other's throats so when the husband passed on, it came as a kind of strange occurrence to find the widow devastated (she helped out with finances around the house so she was financially kinda OK, if this is important, this is to say she wasn't totally dependent on him).

My mum gave her condolences and offered a listening ear to which the lady poured out her woes, lamenting how she missed her bastard of a husband (in her own words btw). She said she would give anything to hear him yell at her just one more time, and she missed him terribly and did not know what to do because she realized now in his absence she rather loved him.

Back to today, when some images of the grisly attack were shared onlines some kinda hazy and out of focus but most clear and discernible. It made my head spin to think that the unfortunate people caught out who didn't make it out had family, friends, enemies, nemesis, maybe kids, siblings, and parents who loved them and such.

I realized that most of the things we fight over are inconsequential in the grand scheme, and just a waste of time that we already are very short on. In the end what matters the most is what we felt, and it is only logical that we feel more when we have people around us to feel it with us.
We tend to focus on the negatives because the human brain is a scumbag of an organ that loves to torture its bearers for no reason other than that it can, and by so doing we spend so little time on the positives which is sad.

I remember seeing in a book I read a long time ago that the bitter heart eats its owner, and for the longest time I did not understand what this meant, but hind vision is 20/20 and it could not be clearer now. Letting go of hurt takes supernatural strength, I know because I have been on the receiving end of the deceit of being cheated on, but we are born of stars so I believe we can achieve whatever we set our minds on.
I am not saying I will forget everything that was done to me, although it would be so much better if I could, but I will stop scratching at those scars and just let them heal as they best can. I will not go down that road of angry loathing and tired disrespect because I do not know what tomorrow holds and I do not want to live to a ripe old age alone, biter, and full of regret.

I will seize the damn day, and smile when I can, because days are coming when I won't be able to. I will work on forgiving the past not only because I love him (or loved him, depends on when you ask haha), but because I love me and I'm tired of carrying around luggage in my life which I won't even leave this world with.

So I hope you can do the same my foxxy loves, not for anyone else but for yourself because no one else will do it for you. You do also have to be the change you wish to see in the world, according to Ghandi, so stay foxxy ladies, and until next time, let loose the self love!!

                                          XOXO