Dear Emuna: Changing My Husband

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How can I help my husband change a certain trait?

Dear Emuna,

I have a wonderful husband. He cares about me, our children and the community. Sometimes I think he should do a little less for the community and a little more for his family (!) but most of the time I am proud of his volunteer work and his commitment to the Jewish people. My main complaint is that he lacks consistent follow through. If I point out ways in which he needs to change, he immediately accepts it upon himself but it never lasts. After a few days he reverts back to his old ways and I get frustrated. How can I help him?

(Don’t want to be) Nagging Wife

Dear Nagging Wife,

I think perhaps the first person you need to help is yourself. You don’t mention the areas lacking consistent follow through but I do know that no one, wives and husbands in particular, likes to receive constant criticism, constructive or not. Unless asked for, most of us are not looking for ways to change. And nagging or in any way pestering about it has the least chance of success.

So what requires follow through? If it is practical chores, then there are practical solutions. Although many women want the items on their to-do list done yesterday, most men don’t operate that way. The best tip I have found is to make a list of items requiring attention and give each one a reasonable due date. For example, “If you could change the light bulbs in the dining room before Shabbat, I would really appreciate it.” “My parents are coming to visit next month; if you could have that new cabinet in the guest bathroom put together by then, that would be terrific.” “I’m really exhausted tonight; if you could wash the dishes and put them away so I don’t wake up to a messy kitchen, I would be grateful.” Each task is paired with an appropriate time frame, making it not too onerous or demanding and giving your husband some freedom of choice as to when he accomplishes these jobs. This usually works and eliminates the need for nagging.

On relationship issues, it’s a little more complicated. Maybe you want more attention (you do suggest that). Maybe you want him to follow through on his commitment to date night. And so on. To satisfy these desires, I suggest a two-pronged attack. One is to take initiative yourself. If you want a regular date night, hire a babysitter and make a plan. Don’t sit home waiting for him to do something and then sulk because he didn’t. If you just want your husband home more often, it will also require some effort on your part. Make his favorite dinner. Plan game night. Host events at your home. Make home so inviting he won’t want to leave. This is all prong number one.

Prong number two is praise. Tell him how much you enjoyed your date night, how stimulating the conversation was, what an original thinker he is, how much you enjoy listening to him speak, what a special evening at home last night was, how much fun it was to play games together. “You catch more bees with honey” is certainly a Torah idea although not a direct quote!

Lastly, there is always prayer. Pray for a good marriage. Pray for a good and loving husband. Pray to be a good wife. Pray to have the strength to deal with the challenges to your marriage. Pray for joy and happiness. If you focus on the positive through your prayer and your actions, I have no doubt that you will turn the situation around.

-- Emuna

Changing Terms of Our Marriage

Dear Emuna,

My husband and I have been married for 25 years. For the first 23 years of our marriage we were in business together, working side by side to grow the company and support our family. We each brought different strengths to the business – he is more creative and I am more practical – so we had a division of labor and rarely (though of course not never!) quarreled. I really enjoyed working with him along with the sense that our goals were completely intertwined. Now he is bored and wants to leave me in charge of the business while he pursues a different avenue. I understand that he wants to branch out but it leaves me feeling hurt and alone. I feel like the terms of our marriage have changed and that we will no longer be as close as we used to be. I want to be supportive of him but I’m fighting constantly with him instead. Any advice?

Confused Wife

Dear Confused Wife,

People grow, evolve and change – and marriages need to respond accordingly. The main thing is that the central character traits of your husband remain constant. If he was kind, loyal and trustworthy when you married him, and he continues to embody those wonderful qualities, then the change is not destructive but an opportunity to stretch yourself, to grow in new and unexpected ways.

Marriages can become stagnant. Individuals may be trapped in their ruts. It doesn’t hurt to shake things up – in a positive way!

You probably wouldn’t want a husband who was never interested in anything new, who didn’t challenge you and promote a process of discovery. We want to take advantage of life’s many opportunities and we want our marriages to be living organisms.

This means that things won’t always stay the same (23 years is an unusually long track record). Try to face the change with excitement and anticipation. Try to imagine new growth for yourself, new expansion of character. Who knows what new adventure could be waiting around the corner?

At the very least, you need to be supportive of your husband and his needs. With good will and reciprocity, I’m sure that you will either reach a compromise or embrace the new experience.

-- Emuna

Homesick

Dear Emuna,

My 15-year-old daughter just went to sleep-away camp for her first time. I know it is a good camp – two of her siblings attended – and a number of her close friends from school accompanied her this year. She was really looking forward to it and we did a massive shopping in preparation. She’s been there for two days and is homesick. She keeps calling me, sobbing, asking me to bring her home. Should I?

Summer Mom

Dear Summer Mom,

What happened to those wonderful camp rules that say kids are not allowed near the phones for the first week? And how are they always able to circumvent them?

I’m not a big proponent of bring kids home from camp, especially during the first days. The initial adjustment is tough for everyone, even the seasoned veterans, but after a few more days, the vast majority of campers settle in for a wonderful summer experience – camp spirit, outdoor activities, water sports, color war, evening programs and so on. It’s a lot of fun.

And even if it isn’t the time of her life, it’s a maturing experience. It’s an opportunity to learn some independence and to make new friends.

So I would definitely hesitate before acting. In fact, I wouldn’t let her believe that coming home is an option. If she thinks it is, then she will. She needs to believe that she has to make the best of it. And then she will accommodate herself successfully to her circumstances. It’s a little like Sundays. If your children have even the smallest belief that you are going to entertain them, they won’t stop nagging you. But if you put your foot down and assert that, under no conditions are you available for the position of camp counselor, they will accept and go off and entertain themselves.

If we bring our children home, we communicate that they can’t cope, that they don’t have the same inner strength and resources as others.

We’re so afraid that they might be slightly bored or a little lonely or briefly unhappy, that we rescue them before they have a chance to develop their own coping skills and enjoy the experience.

Insist that she stay. I can all but guarantee that she’ll be crying when it’s time to leave.

-- Emuna

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