Corrective Measures 01: Audit Day

My beautiful wife Rachel wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug while I stood at the sink doing the dishes. "Dinner was excellent sweetheart."

"Thank you dear. Do you think your mother liked it?"

"Oh come on Steve, you know how much she loves your lasagna."

"Yeah I know, that's why I made it."

I finished up with the dishes, turned around and gave Rachel a kiss. "Can I get you another glass of wine honey?"

"No thanks, I'm still working on the one from earlier," Rachel said as she rested her head on my chest.

I asked her if she didn't mind, I was tired and was going to go upstairs and get ready for bed.

That's when Rachel pulled her head away and looked at me with a quizical look on her face. "Sweetheart, are you forgetting what day it is?"

I immediately realized what she meant and I quickly glanced at the calendar next to the refrigerator. It was the 30th, the last day of the month. "Oh, of course not dear. Silly me, I thought there were 31 days this month, my mistake.

Rachel smiled and brought her head back into my chest for one last squeeze. "Good darling. I'll get the journal and we'll get started then." She headed over to the desk in the hallway to get, THE JOURNAL.

The journal is where my lovely wife tracks my behavior each month. It keeps a running tally of my mistakes and bad decisions. If I am disrespectful to my wife or any woman for that matter, it goes in the book. If I forget to take out the garbage, it goes in the book. If I even curse...well, you get the idea.

On the last day of every month we have an audit of my behavior. Good and bad and that's when Rachel decides on what punishments or "corrective measures," if any, need to be taken.

Our marriage wasn't always this way. We've been married for a little over 7 years and we both kind of had that 7 year itch everyone always talks about. Actually, it was more of a 4 year itch.

Things hadn't been good between us for a few years. It was the same old story, couldn't get on the same page about sex, money, friends, etc. We tried some traditional marriage counseling but it didn't help. We were at the point that we were considering a trial seperation.

That's when Rachel started doing alot of research on line. She read some articles about women who had saved their marriages by taking control of them. She was intrigued, but most of the stuff she was finding was the over the top, femdom type information. She felt a lot of the things they pushed were actually more work for the wife, than the husband. She didn't want to have to be on me constantly, giving orders, making every decision. It all seemed exhausting to her to be quite honest.

Then she stumbled on the writings of Dr. Penelope Harnisch. Her approach was a little different. It wasn't about dominating your husband, it was about creating an environment where your husband wanted to become a better man. Where he would make the right decisions for himself, instead of the wife being burdened with making all his decisions for him. My wife liked the way that sounded and ordered her book. A book that has now become Rachel's personal Bible.

One of the main techniques Dr. Harnisch advocated was cataloguing the activities of the husband each month. Ideally, the husband would actively participate and self report any misdeeds to the wife, to then be documented. At the end of each month, the wife and husband would review what had occurred. This would also allow the husband to explain himself and to also bring up any good things he did. Afterwards, the wife would decide on what corrective measures, as Dr. Harnisch called them, would or would not be taken.

Now, every couple is different and Dr. Harnisch points that out. What is acceptable in one relationship may not be acceptable in another. It's something that the wife and husband have to decide on for themselves.

The same goes for corrective measures. Dr. Harnisch is not a big believer in physical discipline, though she admits it has its place. She is more an advocate of psychological punishments because they have an immediate effect on the husband's mental and emotional state. To control a man's emotions, allows you to control the man she says. In her book she gives several examples to support her beliefs and act as a guide for wives and girlfriends. She believes that if done properly, the corrective measures will allow the husband to "see the light" so to speak. He will begin making the right choices in life and become a better partner in his relationship.

After reading her book, Rachel sat me down and we had a long talk. She told me about the program and said it was a last ditch effort to save our marriage. Either we went all in on this or we both needed to get lawyers.

My initial thought was, "why is it me that has to improve, what about her?" Rachel was of course ready for that question, since it is the most commonly asked one by husbands.

As per Dr. Harnisch's book, Rachel had compiled a list of mistakes and other transgressions I had made over the previous two years. From forgetting birthdays and anniversaries, to flirting with other women, to staying out all night with the guys and not telling her. She remembered everything! Rachel then asked me to make my own list of things she had done...and honestly, I couldn't come up with much. Not having sex with me on demand, is not really something you want to list as a complaint when trying to save your marriage.

To say I was skeptical about this whole program would be an incredible understatement. I thought she was just delaying the inevitable but I also did owe it to her and my marriage to give it a try. We really did love each other, we were just at a point where stubbornness and hurt had taken over. When I told her I would do it she was thrilled. It was the happiest I had seen her in a long time and that made me feel good that she was happy.

A few days later, Rachel paid for a 45 minute teleconference with Dr. Harnisch and she helped Rachel finalize our 'marriage plan.'

That was 9 months ago and I have to say, it has helped our marriage. We have become much closer and there is no more talk of divorce. But I do dread these audits! As the months have gone on, Rachel has become more demanding in what she expects of me and more strict with her punishments.

We were only a month into the program and I had forgotten to call Rachel's mother for her birthday. Even though I was pretty good the rest of the month, that was a big mistake. As a result, the following month I was forbidden from watching football for two weekends in a row and instead, had to take Rachel and her mother shopping. Rachel didn't tell her mother why, she just thought I was trying to be a good son in law.

About three months ago I had a bad month. I made numerous bad decisions and Rachel was so disappointed in me she ordered a chastity device and locked me in it. I wasn't allowed to get an erection or touch my penis for two weeks. The constant ache in my groin, having to sit to pee, being worried somebody at work would notice it through my suit pants...it was a terrible two weeks. But it worked, I was on my best behavior after that.

At least until this month. I knew there were going to be some issues for me with this month's audit.

By now, Rachel had gotten the journal and was seated at the kitchen table with her glass of wine. I walked over and we got started. When we did these reviews, Rachel always sat, while I remained standing next to her.

"Well let's see...you cursed...17 times this month? Rachel wasn't sure she read the number correctly.

"Yes dear, alot of that foul language was from just two incidents. I dropped a plate last week that shattered and I was pretty mad at myself. I self reported that to you. Then I hit my head on the cabinet the other night, right before dinner."

"Yes Steven, none the less, 17 is a big number. You need to show greater self control."

"Yes dear."

"A lot of these on here seem to be very minor, Oh, except for these two! First, when we went to the store last Tuesday. You were very disrespectful to the saleswoman."

"Rachel, the girl was very rude to me when I walked in. She couldn't have been more than 19 or 20, and had her face buried in her phone. When I asked her for help, she actually put her index finger up to me, to tell me to wait. All I said to her was that she was rude and unprofessional."

"Whether she was rude to you or not is not the point. You are not to be disrespectful to any female, no matter how old they are. It's something you agreed to. And to do it in public, with me standing there...I was so embarrassed."

Rachel was clearly not seeing my side of the argument on this one and definitely not the next one.

"And next, we come to last weekend! You said you were going out with the guys, which is your choice to make. But you promised me you would be home no later than 11pm. But what time did you come home?"

"1:30 in the morning," I meekly said, head down.

"That's right, 1:30 in the morning. No phone call, no text. What is your explanation on that one?"

Knowing there was no satisfactory answer I simply said, "I'm sorry, I just lost track of time."

"Oh really," Rachel continued, "what's that on your wrist?"

"A watch," I said.

"Exactly! A watch! So losing track of time is not a valid excuse!"

Rachel was not happy. She flipped back into the book and could see that I was not learning my lesson when it came to cursing. Each of the last three months I had an increase in foul language. She was also not happy about what she viewed as a lack of respect toward females. She reminded me of a comment I made about a waitress we had one day last month. I didn't make it too her, I made it about her, but it still counted. That, in addition to the night out with the boys had her very concerned.

"You know what Steven, this is my fault. You had a couple good months and I started getting lenient and letting things slide. As a result you have regressed. Sweetheart, I want you to be the best man you can be, that's why we are doing this. Now, do you have anything to add before I decide on your corrective measure for this month?"

I thought about it for a second and I probably should have just remained quiet, but I didn't. "Yes dear, I just want to say, I made your mother's favorite meal tonight, in part, to show you how sorry I was for my behavior."

"What! Rachel said, going from concerned to outright mad. "Are you telling me the ONLY reason you made that meal was so you would get a lighter punishment from me?! All this time I thought you made it because you loved my mother and me!

"Rachel dear it's not like that, really...," but she cut me off before I finished.

"Enough!" She yelled.

I could see she was trying to calm herself down. "Dr. Harnisch says that us wives, in our role as judges should not pass sentence when we are mad. So, Steven, if you could please wait in the den, I will call you in when I calm down.

I didn't say anything and went into the den to await my fate.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only about 10 minutes, Rachel called me back into the kitchen. She had calmed down and was back in control of her emotions.

"Steven, first I want to apologize for my outburst. I have told you that you need better self control, but I have set a bad example. I think the big problem is you are not as invested in this as you need to be. The whole point of this program is that the husband needs to be a partner in making himself a better man and spouse. So, I am going to let you choose your corrective measure for this month."

This sounded like music to my ears...at first.

"I am going to give you two choices, you need to pick one. Whichever one you pick, it's final and it starts immediately, understood?"

"Understood," I responded.

"Good. Now, your two choices are either, an entire month wearing the chastity device or an entire week of not being allowed to wear clothes at home."

Rachel could see my confused look regarding the second option. It wasn't anything that we had ever done before. So she explained it further.

"It's pretty simple, while you are home, you will remain completely naked, not even a pair of socks. Obviously, when you go to work you will get dressed but as soon as you get home, you will strip naked in the garage and enter the house. It's now 9:45 Sunday night, so it would go to the same time next Sunday. Or the first option, you have to wear the chastity device for a whole month."

I thought about my options. I absolutely hated the chastity device! Two weeks was a nightmare, I couldn't imagine wearing it for a whole month. Believe it or not, the second option didn't seem so bad. It was kind of kinky. The thought of Rachel and me alone in the house for a week, with me naked, was kind of a turn on.

Rachel could see the wheels turning in my head. She made sure to let me know, that if I thought option two was going to turn into some sort of sex fest, I was going to be very disappointed.

Despite that, I still thought option two was the way to go. "I'll do option two," I told her.

"Oh great! I was hoping you would pick that one," she said as she stood and gave me a hug and a kiss. "This tells me you want to be a better man, thank you!"

"No problem, I am glad you're happy with my choice."

"I am, I am very happy. Now, take your clothes off."

"Right here? I was going to go up to bed, why don't I just take them off upstairs?"

"Because darling, you're not going up stairs just yet. Not with dishes in the sink."

"What are you talking about I...," was all I got out. When I looked over I could see that Rachel had put the dishes I had already cleaned back in the sink and added about 7 more.

"When you are done cleaning, drying and putting away those dishes, you can go up to bed."

I just looked at her and nodded.

"Now, quit wasting time. Let's go, take your clothes off and place them in the laundry room."

Rachel sat back down at the kitchen table and watched me as I began to take my clothes off. I was actually getting a nervous feeling in my stomach as I undressed in front of my wife. I thought it kind of odd to have butterflies getting undressed in front of a woman that had seen me naked a thousand times. But the way she was watching me was just different. I really can't explain it, other than the look in her eyes was... different.

Once I was naked, I put my clothes in the laundry room, which was just off the kitchen and walked over to the sink.

"Oh dear, before you get started, I will take that second glass of wine now." Rachel was holding up her wine glass with her left hand, while she wrote in the journal with her right.

After getting my wife her glass of wine, I went back to cleaning the dishes. As I stood at the sink, I said quietly to myself, "It's only a week, how bad could it be?"