Have you ever listened to any Master of ceremony crack their usual jokes at wedding receptions? It goes thus: “who should pay bills or take care of the children? Who is to pay school fees of children? Who should toil to provide for the home? The whole audience shouts. “Daddy!”. Who should the child buy a car for after graduation? The women answer loudly. “Mother!” Who should be invited to America if a child is rich and works abroad? “Mother of course”, roared the women in the audience.
Who should die first among the parents? “Daddy!” All the women in the hall screamed. Truly, such is the fate of an African man. Are we not born losers? When a lady is single and has four problems and her fiancée has six problems, immediately they get married, the man’s problems become automatically ten (10) as the man immediately starts to carry the family problems.
Men are made to struggle to take care of family problems, children’s education, home maintenance, and virtually all provisions of life. Due to these challenges and unending struggle, men tend to wear out faster and probably die early as a result of stress.
Hence, it is important for men to ensure that they don’t allow their wives to push them into unsustainable family commitments and expensive lifestyle that he knows he cannot afford or cope with in the long run. If you do, you run the risk of stress and continuous family unrest.
Ensure you take right decisions at all times, do not kill yourself. If you suddenly slump and die, surprisingly, life will continue, be wise and reasonable. Most men are worn out by the time their children graduate or retiring at same period.
All the struggle would have already taken serious tolls on his health and life, and dies prematurely, leaving Mama alone enjoying. Trust women, they quickly settle down while you are long gone. Be sensible, never allow your wife to goad you into embarking on long term stress and burden, you can least afford.
Take note:
When children grow into adulthood, women tend to shift more attention to them at your expense. In fact she is seeing a replacement of you in them. Men should take care of their health, live and eat well as you may go prematurely if you have been subjecting your life to excessive stress for too long. It’s even more terrible in marriages under storm.
In Yoruba land, our mothers in fact call their male children. “My husband”. (Oko mi.) So when your son grows to your height and size, with your shoes and clothes matching your son exactly your wife gladly starts to feel fulfilled. As you get older in your marriage, be careful, and avoid creating rift in your home. Be at peace with your wife and children, if not you are endangering yourself, as you are hardly needed any longer.
Know that women wax stronger spiritually at old age while men become weaker at old age. Men should live a good life enjoy your life, eat the sweat of your labour when you are still strong. Whether you like it or not, your wife will outlive you, particularly if you are older than her (barring accident of life) she will be around to live to complete the unfinished “assignment” and consume the balance of the “dividends of parenthood”.
So while you are still agile, train your children, take care of your home, but enjoy yourself as late evening of life are always unfavourable for men. A word is enough for the wise!
