Being a good spouse

Last night after dinner, mum told her brother "I've a good husband !". that phrase got me thinking ...what would it take to be a good husband or spouse?.To her it means never giving her problems like waiting, being fussy about what she cooks up,tolerant , supportive in her activities to the extent of financial and moral support and most important , be there for her when she needs you. I have tried to be as trouble free to her as possible.Knowing her and her likes and dislikes its a simple matter to adjust to it.Knowing that she stretches herself to the limit everyday, baby sitting and doing the housework ,I have to be sure that I do not add to her headache .Helping out in some small little way and encouraging her when she wants to do her things gives her that little bit of encouragement and perhaps a little motivation too.Listening to her stories makes her happy and I believe that a couple must communicate and to do so you must have a common wave length.You cant really talk sensibly if one is a turkey and the other an eagle.Being there for her to listen to her stories gives her an outlet which gives her a certain amount of comfort and assurance.its also good for her ego and self confidence. She loves to travel and be with her friends.Nothing makes her happier than this and she need not have to ask me when she wants to go anywhere.The male chauvinism thing does not apply here.You have to give her due respect as she knows what she is doing and doing it well too.Tolerance, support, understanding are ingredients very necessary in a relationship.We always tell each other in advance what is the plan for the week or the month and her opinion is always considered positively.Most of the time I let her decide on things , knowing this is what makes her happy. Our time management is one of the things we are proud of as there was , as far as I can remember , no misunderstanding on time. If I want to play golf on Sunday mornings and she has to go to the market , I make sure we do not clash over usage of the bathroom .I will just be a few minutes earlier than her and that solves the problem easily. I know she doesn't like things cluttered around even in my own room so I make it a point to be tidy though at times men tend to be messy.Since a long time ago I would buy all the toiletries for her.Things like shampoo, body wash, tooth paste , brushes etc are selected and bought by me and to her credit she just uses what I buy and I would always make sure that the replacement is always there before something runs out.This is another way of reducing her burden and it does help a little bit. A long lasting relationship is based on trust, understanding, tolerance ,consideration and above all mutual care and affection which will enable us to overlook little or even glaring and insufferable weaknesses on the part of the other party.