I taught my husband a valuable lesson when he made a new schedule for me to “become a better wife.”

When my husband, Jake, gave me a calendar to help me “become a better wife,” I was astounded. However, I played along rather than losing it. Jake had no idea that I was going to give him a lesson that would cause him to reconsider his recently adopted marriage philosophy.

I’ve always taken great satisfaction in being the sensible one in our union. It was easy for Jake to become engrossed in anything, be it a new pastime or a random YouTube video that claimed to transform his life in three simple steps.

But before Jake met Steve, we were good. Steve was the kind of person who talked over you when you tried to correct him, the kind who believed that having strong opinions made him correct.

In addition, he was unmarried all the time (who would have thought that?), and he politely gave relationship advise to everyone of his married coworkers, including Jake. Although Jake ought to have known better, my beloved hubby was completely enamored with Steve’s self-assurance.

I didn’t give it much thought until Jake began to say some offensive things.

According to Steve, partnerships are most successful when the wife manages the home. Or “Steve believes that regardless of the length of a woman’s marriage, she should always look good for her husband.”

I would scoff and roll my eyes in response, but it was starting to irritate me. Jake was evolving. God forbid I have a full-time job of my own, so he would sigh when I let the laundry pile up and raise his eyebrows if I ordered takeout rather than cooking.

Then it took place. He brought The List home one evening.

He slipped a piece of paper across to me after unfolding it and seating me at the kitchen table.

He said, “I’ve been thinking,” in a tone of condescension that I had never heard him use before. Lisa, you make a wonderful wife. However, there is potential for improvement.

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, really?”

Ignorant of the danger zone he was entering, he nodded. Indeed. Steve helped me realize that if you, you know, took a little more initiative, our marriage could be even better.

The page in front of me caught my attention. There was a schedule. and “Lisa’s Weekly Routine for Becoming a Better Wife” was put in bold at the top.

In fact, this guy had taken the time to plan out my whole week according to what Steve, a single man with no prior marital experience, believed I should do to “improve” as a wife.

Every day at five a.m., I was expected to get up and prepare Jake a wonderful breakfast. I would then spend an hour at the gym to “keep in shape.”