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Men want to be appreciated, women want to be needed.

My wife and I are high-school sweethearts. We started dating our freshman year and February will mark our 24th anniversary. We have had our share of issues and problems during our marriage. But, there are two times that stand out as the most difficult for us to make it through - and Thank God we are working to make it!

The first was when we went through some financial strain which meant I was not able to provide for my family as well as before (I felt like I was not being appreciated for what I WAS able to provide at that time) and this caused a MAJOR strife between us. The second time (which is happening now) is that our children are starting to leave the roost and my wife does not feel as "needed" around the house and this is causing some problems right now. Two of our children have left the house and the third is graduating this year, so this is really causing some issues.

I think you are absolutely correct: men want to be appreciated, women want to be needed.

My husband and I have been married 46 years with our share of ups and downs. Through it all, both of us at some point finally settled that divorcing and remarrying someone else was not an answer. - Oh, yeah, it’s true that a “new” romance would have been all new and exciting - FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS - then, with anyone, reality would set in and we both would have realized, too late, that we had simply traded one set of problems for another set of problems; and maybe even WORSE problems than what we had originally. Sort of like trading the devil for the witch or vice versa.
So, it’s best to just buck up, work through the problems with give and take, throw in a bit of fun in the meantime, lean on the Lord, and whatever it is, this, too, shall pass . . .