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8. Are there any character traits you think are important in selecting a spouse

9. Does your husband:

Fall asleep in front of the TV?––––

Take you out to dinner or to the movies?––––

If so, how often?––––

Know how to assemble things?––––

Give appropriate and well-thought-out gifts?––––

Hold your hand when you walk?––––

Help around the house?––––

Help with the children?––––

10. What traits do you bring to your marriage that help make it work?

Survey Comments:

CHAPTER ONE

Dear Jill,

I don’t usually respond to surveys, but your questions brought to mind how much I love my husband and how much I appreciate him. Thank you for the reminder.

We’ve been mostly happily married over thirty-six years. Of course there have been ups and downs, but we worked our way through them. As a salesman, he travels quite often and that’s put him in the way of lots of temptation. Yet he hasn’t once wavered in his love and devotion to me.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to be tolerant. No one is perfect, but if you let your fellow know you’ll always be there for him, then he’ll always be there for you.

All the best,

A very wise woman once told me (okay, it was Susan, but she’s really wise!) that all mothers make their daughters crazy. She said she began getting along with her mother after accepting that as a given and asking herself why her mom made her so nuts. I’m not sure she realized this beforehand, because her mother died five years ago.

Either way, for me the answer is simple. My mother makes me crazy because she
is
nuts.

I don’t know about you, but whenever trouble looms, storm clouds gather, or Mom is within shouting distance, I head for the nearest bathroom, primarily because it has a lock and bringing guests in with you is frowned on.