Sensational Saturday - Beat Him to the Car

Sensational Saturday - it is sensational to beat your husband to the door to go out.

Each Sensational Saturday throughout the month of October will be dedicated to sharing some of the best marital advice I have gotten from friends. I have been happily married for 22 years and I have to admit that it is in part due to advice I got from some people who were close to me.  Previous Sensational Saturday articles dealt with giving your spouse something real at home and with never going to bed angry. Next week, the final Sensational Saturday article in the series will deal with going to Starbucks. This Sensational Saturday is about the advice I got from a friend to "beat him to the door."

photo credit: Cinzia A. Rizzo / fataetoile BUSY via photopin cc

When I was married six months or so, my husband asked if I wanted to accompany him on some errand or another and I did not. When I told my friend Marcia about it later she said, "No, never tell your husband you don't want to go out. He will stop asking and you will cry. Next time, beat him to the door." She told me to keep a dress ready on the back of the bedroom door and a to go purse because I could get dressed in the car.  Since that day I have followed Marcia's advice. When Darren wants to go out, I get up and go. I show my support and provide the pleasure of my company. Maybe as a result, he still calls me his favorite travel companion.

A funny thing about that "beat him to the door advice" is that I taught it to the children. Whenever Darren wants to go for a drive the kids run to get to the car before their daddy. It is funny. All the kids have learned that in the summer, Darren will pick up and go on an overnight road trip with no notice. They all keep summer back packs with clothes and a favorite toy so that if Daddy says let's go, they grab the bags and go.

Perhaps the real beauty of the "beat him to the door" advice is that it made me keep hanging out with Darren. It made me continue to hang out with him and do things with him. Everyone has heard the saying, "the family that prays together, stays together."   Perhaps it is also true that the family that hangs out together stays together. So the question for you this Sensational Saturday is, what is your secret for keeping your family together and strong?