One of the people I follow on Twitter is Mandisa (@mandisaofficial.) Each week she proclaims “Thankful Thursday” and people tweet what they are thankful for. I’ve never participated in Thankful Thursday because… well… honestly…I don’t see any other guys participating. I hate to admit it, but I’ve been lurking, waiting to participate but it feels a bit like a girl party so I’ve stayed out of it. I’m still thankful, though, I promise.

Anyway, it got me thinking. I can post a Thankful Thursday blog post. That way I can participate without feeling like the lone guy at the baby shower. (Trust me, you don’t want to be that guy.) One thing that all husbands need to do is appreciate their wives. I’m extremely thankful for my wife. So take some time today to tell your wife how much and why you appreciate her.

One thing that we husbands have a hard time learning is when something needs to be said aloud and when something is implicit. Many men would say, “My wife knows I appreciate her. I don’t need to tell her.” Wrong answer! The amount of gas you developed at the church chili supper? That can go unspoken (especially around her friends.) Another recap of your high school sports accomplishments? That can go unspoken. But how much you love her and appreciate her? That needs to be stated – often.

Since most of us men are more comfortable with bullet points than prose, I am recommending something along the lines of the following:

(Important reminder: please modify this list to include your wife’s name and attributes relevant to her. You can’t steal someone’s list verbatim. That’s bad karma and nobody wants to be the karma chameleon, whatever that means.)

I am extremely thankful for my wife, Kristy.

I’m thankful for the big things:

• She puts up with me.
• She loves me.
• She is a wonderful mom to our three children.

I’m thankful for the little things:

• She locks the cat up when I’m trying to sleep late.
• She makes the best sweet tea in the world.
• She still packs my bags for me when I go on trips.

I love the way she:

• Tells me she is finished and going to get off the phone then talks for another 15 minutes
• Is addicted to Facebook
• gives hugs (I would also point out that she’s a good kisser, but we’re getting old and I don’t want my kids to throw up when they read this.)