It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes boundaries to protect a marriage. Family and friends can help raise your children, offer advice, and support you when things get difficult. That support is valuable. But when everyone starts deciding how you should raise your children, handle disagreements, spend money, and run your home, your marriage begins to lose its privacy. Boundaries do not mean rejecting your family. They mean knowing the difference between people who can advise you and people who have the right to make decisions for your marriage. Let the village help raise the child, but don't allow the village to run your home. Your marriage needs room for both of you to make decisions, resolve disagreements, and grow together without everyone having a say. The village can support your marriage, but it should never become the third partner in it.

As a wife, I will never ask my beloved husband to cook, clean, or wash the dishes. Growing up, my mother never once asked my dad to do any of these things. She did them without complaining. They both went to work, yet she still took care of the house. My dad sometimes helped with the things he chose to do, but she never demanded it of him. But I also understand that every marriage is different, and what works for one couple may not work for another. My question is: when did marriage become so much about who is supposed to do what? Can't a woman choose to serve her husband out of love, just as another woman can choose to share responsibilities equally with hers? Perhaps marriage isn't about following one formula but finding what works for two people who love and respect each other.