My Oilfield Man and I just celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary! Five years! That seems so crazy to me! Didn’t we just get engaged last week? What a crazy 5 years it has been, indeed! It’s got me all in love and stuff. He came home on our actual anniversary and we’ve been busy making memories ever since (what we do best on days off).
Anyway, it inspired me to write about looovee, and being in looovee, and loving your OFM…and then I stopped! Wait a freakin’ minute! What the hell was I doing?! If you’re reading this you already know how to love an oilfield man! You do it every day! Then I also remembered how much those “be good to your man” articles piss me off. Why is it always about the man? Nuh-uh! NOT today, lovies! Today is all about US.
That’s right, How to Love an Oilfield Wife. Gentlemen, pay close attention, things are about to get serious.
- Respect her! Simple. Respect.Your.Wife. She respects you. Sometimes more than you realize or deserve. She cares for you near and far. She thinks about you and considers you before making any crucial decisions. She takes care of things, your things, while you can’t. She recognizes your endless efforts and hard work and wishes you’d see hers. Respect her like she respects you.
- Love her! No, really looovvveeee her! Much like her respect for you, her love is equally as strong. Be romantic. If this isn’t a strong suit for you there are some excellent romance idea books out there. Buy one. Better yet, get creative. No one knows her like you do, you’ll know what to do (and she’ll appreciate it even more).
- Speaking of love and romance, bring that sweet lovin’ right into the bedroom with you. It doesn’t have to be “dreamy” all the time. Channel your inner man beast and bring it! Inner man beast will ignite inner vixen goddess and you, my friend, have got yourself the recipe for some hot-home-again fun! You’re welcome.
- Listen. Dude, she hasn’t seen you in weeks…months! You must do more than just ‘be’ in the same room with her. Sit with her. Talk to her. What she has to say is important. I get it, we’re women, and we talk a lot. Sorry. But it’s important to US, which means it should be important to you too. Take time to listen.
- Make time quality time. You know just as well as we do, time goes fast when you’re having fun. We are well aware that you have to deflate when you come off a hitch. But the clock starts ticking as soon as you walk through that door. She’s waited for what seems like forever to have you back again, and before you know it those bags are going to be packed once more ready to go. Make the time at home special (for everyone).
- Leave work at work. We all know the oilfield is a stressful, demanding place. It changes a man. You may not think so, but it does. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we know you have to, but for the love of all things womanly…leave it on the rig. Come home. Be happy. Enjoy your time with your family.
- Speaking of…remember she’s your wife, NOT a crew member. Speak kindly, please.
- Patience! If anyone knows how hard this one is, it’s your OFW. In order to live this life she has to live, breathe, and BE patience. It’s essential to oilfield wife life survival. Sometimes you need to be the one to bring her back down.
- Spoil her. Yep, I went there. Spoil her rotten. She deserves it. No, it doesn’t have to be all the time and you certainly don’t have to go “all out” to shower her with all her wants and desires. But do make her feel special, wanted, and appreciated.
- Be loyal. When looking up other ways to say this you’ll find: faithful, trustworthy, devoted, reliable, dependable, steadfast, and dedicated. Yes! Yes to all of these things!
When it comes down to it, this is all in good fun. Let’s face it; in reality there are really 1,001 ways to love an oilfield wife (am I right, ladies?)! You loving her, her loving you…it doesn’t matter how it’s done. In the end all that ever really matters is love. If you’ve got that, and I’m sure you do, you’re set!
…Except for the loyalty part. I meant that wholeheartedly! Oh! And bring chocolate!
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