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The Rules for Marriage
TIME-TESTED SECRETS FOR
MAKING YOUR MARRIAGE WORK
Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider
Contents
Rule 1 Relax during the Engagement and Wedding
Rule 2 Continue to Be ‘a Creature Unlike Any Other’
Rule 4 Lower Your Expectations in the First Year
Rule 6 Accept that Some Things Are None of Your Business
Rule 9 Don’t Ask Your Single Friends for Marital Advice
Rule 10 Try Not to Call Him Too Much at Work
Rule 11 Don’t Expect a Lot of Sympathy from Him
Rule 12 Give Him 15 Minutes Alone When He Comes Home
Rule 13 Don’t Use the ‘D’ Word
Rule 14 Don’t Engage – and Other Rules for Rows
Rule 15 Say What You Mean, in the Nicest Possible Way
Rule 16 To Compare Is to Despair – Don’t Compare Him to Other Husbands
Rule 17 Have a Family Dinner at Least Once a Week
Rule 19 Don’t Force Him to ‘Talk’
Rule 20 Don’t Hang on His Every Word
Rule 21 Do Things You Don’t Want to Do
Rule 22 Rarely Return His Gifts
Rule 23 He Can Say Anything about His Family – But You Can’t
Rule 24 Don’t Try to Do It All
Rule 27 Listen to His Advice and Try to Appreciate It
Rule 28 Make Him Feel Like the Most Important Person in Your Life
Rule 30 Don’t Complain about the Kids
Rule 32 Don’t Expect Applause for Doing Chores
Rule 34 Don’t Find Fault with Things You Knew about When You Married Him
Rule 35 It’s Easier to Stay Married than Get Married
Rule 36 Don’t Be Surprised If Your Husband Lies
Rule 37 Don’t Go Changing or Trying Too Hard
Rule 38 Realize that Your Marriage Is Over If He Cheats Even Once
Rule 39 Don’t Think Marriage Guidance Is the Answer
Rule 41 Date Again as Soon as Poss
More Rules from Happily Married Women
Final Thoughts from a Rules Facilitator