Dear Self,
You seem to have fallen into some confusion about how a husband treats his wife. Allow me to clear it up.
A husband carries himself with pride — know that you married up and take seriously the responsibility. A wife requires care and attention and deserves far more than that. She is your top priority.
Give her space. She is a different person than you and needs freedom. The less you direct her, the better. At the same time, do not be absent. She is with you because she fell in love with your personality, so make sure there is time set aside for fun.
When she is in the room, look at her. Don’t stalker-glare but make sure you’re not avoiding eye contact. Even if you are watching television together, look at her every few minutes and smile at her. Make sure she is seen.
Listen to her without interrupting or interjecting. Find something that she enjoys talking about and just listen. Don’t add anything to the conversation except curiosity-fueled questions. Ask her to tell you about something you’ve never cared to learn about — how she does her makeup, what she does on her drive to work, who last made her laugh. The better you know her the better you can love her, so put on your detective hat.
Notice whenever you tend to think of certain things as “her job”. She is not an employee, she is a sovereign queen. You can always help.
Be authentic with her. Hiding the emotions from her is lying to her. Do not lie to your wife.
Most importantly, love yourself as much as you love her.
Love, You.