[AussieWog93]

>It sounds like men should either not get married, or if they do, then endeavor quite seriously to keep their wives happy.

I'm happily married, and in the sense of being counter-cultural would be in completely the other end of the spectrum (very conservative about family, intend on having 6-8 kids that I will cherish even when they're adults).

That said, I think you've hit the nail on the head about "happy wife, happy life".

It's important to basically dedicate your life to being in service to her, but on the flip side it's important for her to do the same.

This level of dedication is almost counter-cultural in a sense, because you're not putting yourself first, but it's absolutely worth it in the long run.

On a visceral level, you feel always loved, always important, always worthy.

[silverquiet]

That's great, but you should realize that not everyone is wired the same way, and that's fine - you'll have a hard time catching me criticizing anyone's choices here. All I can really offer is my own feelings and observations as someone who's been around the block a bit these days.

> intend on having 6-8 kids that I will cherish even when they're adults

There's a wonderful Mike Tyson quote that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. I assure you that it's quite a rare individual who gets married and has kids with the intent of despising their spouse and estranging themselves from their children. Sometimes it works out, and other times it doesn't.

[svnt]

You are apparently speaking from a Christian perspective. What do you do when after childbirth your spouse exits that reciprocal context and begins consuming you as a resource, but not before experimenting with narratives that maximize sympathy for her, which, as you can probably guess, make you the Disney villain.