How to be a good wife

C

carolynjane

Cathlete
I just ran across this - it's from 1954. All if can say is "OH MY!!!"




HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE
Home Economics High School Text Book, 1954


Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the home just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home.

Some don'ts: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he is late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
 
I've seen this many times. I LOVE it!!!:7 :7 :7 :7 :7 Oh yeah, and I always put a ribbon in my hair in preparation for my DH's arrival:7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7

Michele
 
Hey, these are modern times! I'll wear a ribbon in my hair if DH does. :p

Sparrow

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
"Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. "

Little treasures? Playing the part? Crap, if this was what my mom was supposed to behave like, no wonder I'm so messed:p
 
Yeah, my days are conducive to:

"prepare myself" cause he's "been with a lot of work-weary people" - well, kiss my a$$, just take a look at the people and weariness I've been with all day.

"clear away the clutter"..."your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order" - LOL, I prefer to have my husband live in the "real world" of home.

"Prepare the children" - Now this I do - they're all still ALIVE when DH comes home.

"Minimize the noise" - why? Noone minimizes it for me all day.

"with what he might have gone through that day"..."give him a lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom..."arrange his pillow, take his shoes"..."allow him to relax and unwind" - What HE might have been through????? I'll give him a "lean back" and he'll NEED to lie down; I'll put the pillow over his head and throw his shoes at him IF he doesn't relieve some of MY crap when he gets home.

"Let him talk first" - Tell this to a house of DSs. HA HA HA

"Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax." - OK, PICK ME UP CAUSE I'M ROTFLMAO AND CAN'T GET UP!!!! If he wants a place of relaxation this ain't it. And where's my evening if he's getting his?

"The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit. " - My goal is to have everyone clothed, fed and alive by the end of each day and still have hair on my head. DH can "renew himself" at work.


Ok, I've vented and feel better now. I'll go work on becoming a good wife. :)

BTW, I have a most special DH who would never be self-centered and who is definitely a team player or I'd go insane.
 
>Melody, I think you should strip and put a ribbon in your
>hair for when your DH comes home:eek: :p
>
>Michele


Ok, Michele, mission accomplished, I am smiling now.:7

Everyone, I apologize about the above long post, I'm NOT having a good day.x(
 
>>Melody, I think you should strip and put a ribbon in your
>>hair for when your DH comes home:eek: :p
>>
>>Michele
>
>
>Ok, Michele, mission accomplished, I am smiling now.:7
>
>Everyone, I apologize about the above long post, I'm NOT
>having a good day.x(


Well then, it looks like my work is done here for the day;)

Michele:)
 
LOL my dh's grandmother still had this book and another on how to clean,what to clean when and how often. WHAT nobody needs to tell me a schedule for cleaning it gets done when it gets done and he should be grateful i get it done before he gets home LOL.

kassia



When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be
disappointed to discover they are not it -- Bernard Bailey
 
I post here rather infrequently, but this one just made me laugh out loud:7 :7 and I still have this huge smile on my face because THIS IS ME...NOT}( I do know that my DH would love it if I met him naked and with only a ribbon in my hair ok, sans ribbon!!! All of the rest of the stuff wouldn't matter a bit!!!

Seriously we (note the plural) try to give each other 5 minutes before complaints, "concerns" start. And i do try (emphasis definitely on try) to have a healthy meal, but I depend on Racheal Rays 30 minute meals or even the 20 minute versions. Ours is pretty much an egalitarian (sp?) relationship.

But picking up the clutter. . .maybe when the kids move out!! What did Phyllis Diller say (OK, that ages me)

"Cleaning your house when your children are growing is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing" Enough said!
 
I'm probably in the minority here, but if you look at the heart of the message, what's wrong with it?

If you love someone, and they're coming home after a day at work, why wouldn't you want to have a pleasant greeting for them?

My husband would do all those things for me and more, if I worked outside the home. We both do all we can to make each other feel treasured.

If you were having a guest, you would do all those nice things for them.

Just a thought,
Happily married,
Bella
 
Bella,

Rest assured my DH and I do all sorts of wonderful things for one another, including pleasant greetings, pampering, tenderness, thoughtful surprises and much more. We've been married 30 years. And I don't need a book or magazine to tell me to do so.:)

We're all just having some fun here.:+
 
I should probably have a copy of this marriage manual. My DH doesn't call me the bellicose biznitch for nothin!

Michele
 
Things are actually ALMOST like that in our house. Was just having some fun. With the exception of washing my childrens hands or listening to DH first. I am not a good listener.

Charlotte~~
 
Same here, Charlotte! :D.

Since I stay home I take care of the house, bills, laundry, appointments, etc. I do try to have good meals and I like my house to be clean. In all honesty, I enjoy being "in charge" of the house. It's not a man/women thing though; if DH stayed home, those things would be his responsibility.

Sparrow

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
Charlotte and Sparrow,

In reality it's pretty close here, too, except that I homeschool 3 DS and don't quite get it all just right before DH comes home.
 
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