My Mama Done Tole Me . . .

As almost any woman with a daughter will tell you, she is raising a little her. My husband often calls my daughter "Little Debbi." This can be very discouraging at times because I still have so many character traits that I need serious work on and she picks up so many of them.

Recently I've noticed something else my daughter has picked up. She treats my husband like a king. I know she got this from me, because in college, the wife of a professor told us that she had asked her husband, "How do I get you to treat me like a queen?" His response was, "Treat me like a king." As I watched their marriage, I often saw them both doing just that. So, I have tried to implement that into my marriage. And my daughter, picking up on it, has started to make sure Daddy has a drink when he's watching TV, or she asks to take his snack to him when he's working on the computer.

This - and a few other things - has gotten me to thinking about what I learned about marriage from my mother. I'm still thinking on that. Be prepared to ask that question later - What did you learn from your mother?

What I want to teach my daughter about marriage - now that's much easier. I want her to feel that being a wife and a mother is a fulfilling life. I want her to know that, while marriage is work, there is great satisfaction to be found in having a best friend, lover and co-worker all wrapped up in one person. This, of course, will be done on a daily basis with my life, not a week before she gets married with my words.

So, what do your children see on a daily basis that will encourage them to think of marriage as a positive - someday - addition to their lives?

My children see Mom greet Dad cheerfully at the door when he arrives home from work each night - often with a glass of tea in her hand.