Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

the house ready to battle. He might have a job where three
people can walk by his desk and give him a pink slip at any
given moment—change his life in the flash of an eye. The guy
in the position beneath your man’s may be just searching for a
way to undermine him, so he can get the bigger pay—and he
doesn’t give a damn about whether what he says and does can
put your man’s job in jeopardy. Your man could be driving
down the street minding his own business and get pulled over
and something could happen that he has no control over, or
someone may try to come and take what he’s got. In other
words, a man is constantly on the lookout, sizing up the next
man, standing at the ready to defend his and all of his gains
(that would include you).
So when we walk back in our house, we want to be able to
let our guard down. All we want, really, is to hear you say,
“Baby, how was your day? Thank you for making it happen for
us. This family needs you and wants you and is happy to have
you.” We’ve got to feel like we’re king, even if we don’t act
kingly. Trust me, the more you make us feel like we’re special,
the more we’ll give in return. We’ll just try harder. Plain and
simple. Take a page from my mother: every Sunday morning,
my daddy cut my hair for church, and when I got out of that
chair, and lotioned up and put on my suit and my shoes and
walked into the living room where my mother was waiting for
me, she would take one look at me and say, “Look at that boy’s
haircut—boy, you clean!” or “Look at you, boy—you sharp