Tuesday, January 01, 2008

The Good Wife's Guide

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I am sure some of you have seen this list of suggestions from Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May 1955, but it's worth repeating. My MIL handed this to me before Andrew and I got married, tongue-in-cheek, so to speak. She said that she was not in any way implying that I do these things, she just thought it might be good for a laugh. Surprisingly I do a lot of these things, others, well, I question who wrote this in the first place. I am not a militant feminist, I am not even a feminist. In fact, you might call me a grassroots feminist, in that, I believe there is a calling for all women to go back to the way God created us to be. And that is, feminine. I will post a few links to what I mean.
Anyway, here for your enjoyment...
  • Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. 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 (especially his favourite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.
  • Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, 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 for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
  • Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
  • Be happy to see him.
  • Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
  • Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
  • Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.
  • Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order, and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
  • Don't greet him with complaints or problems.
  • Don't complain if he's late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.
  • Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him 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, soothing and pleasant voice.
  • Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
A book I read before I got married was The Power of Feminity by Michelle Mckinney Hammond.
This is what got me started on the return to the true feminine. It opened my eyes to the destruction of the feminist movement. Granted, there are women who are oppressed, even today, and that is wrong. But those men are not following the biblical standard for masculinity. Anyway. I also want to refer you to a wonderful author whom I haven't been able to get on the radio since moving. Nancy Leigh DeMoss. She is a single, powerful speaker, author and theologian. I have grown and been convicted many times since listening to her.

Now about the 30-Day Challenge. How is it going? Today is the first day, it's going ok. I only said one thing that I was convicted of, before it came out of my mouth. But it came out anyway. Ugh. That frustrates me. I don't know why I do it. I see that line in my head and think "I'd better not say that," and out it comes. It wasn't really bad, but it was negative and didn't need to be said. I love praying for people when I know what to pray for, so these written out prayers are nice. I'll update tomorrow.

Gee, what are you going to do? I've updated my blog so many times this week. I'll bet you are dizzy now. Well enjoy!

2 comments:

Shannon said...

Hmmm, I don't like that list very much :) I'm not sure where I stand on feminism. Being a SAHM, I obviously do most of the housework, but DH and I don't have clear roles when it comes to parenting and housework. We both do whatever needs done, KWIM? There are things both of us do better than the other, so it makes sense for us to do those things in particular. But DH definitely doesn't come home to a hot meal and perfect home every day. I'm a mama, not a maid ;)

Jessica Morris said...

Guess I need to get myself a hair ribbon ;)