**My Day As The Perfect 1950's Housewife**

I consider myself a wife who knows how to keep tradition alive & I try extra hard to make my husband as happy as possible. I read an article online called The Good Wifes Guide & it was published in 1950. Some of the rules are a bit ridiculous, even for someone striving to be the best wife possible. For example, one of the 'rules' is that "dont talk about your problems, they arent as important as his." Or "a good wife always knows her place." But the rules arent completely out of line & I definately don't see a problem with striving for excellence. Here are the rules that are in the article. I have used some of these for an earlier post, modified, of course.

• 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 be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal 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.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.
• During 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 to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
• 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.
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him 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 good wife always knows her place.

So I thought, why not give all of these a shot. Although I change shirts for dinner, I don't "dress" for dinner. I don't light a fire, because it honestly scares me to do so. LOL! I dont have a pre-dinner drink prepared for him & I def dont remove his shoes bc they aren't allowed on the carpet! But for one day, I decided to put every effort forward & see what he thought. This is the story of that day.

I started my day the same way I always do...waking up early, getting myself together, making breakfast & lunch & seeing my husband off to work. I cleaned the whole house, opened the windows to let in the fresh air & all that good stuff. So I then decided to make one of his favorite meals & went to the store to get anything else I needed to make it that I didnt already have. After cleaning & grocery shopping I spend the next two hours cooking the whole roasted chicken with roasted vegetables & homemade risotto and baking my (very famous & delicious) blueberry pie. This takes up the entire afternoon. I don't really mind, I enjoy cooking, but at this point, I am tiredddd. Hubby is due home @ 6:30 & when I finally get everything done it is 5:00. So I go upstairs & pick out a pretty cocktail dress that flairs out a bit in the skirt & is cinched @ the waist, I figure I may as well stick with the 1950's theme. at this point it is about 5:15 & I take a 15 minute rest like the rules say to do. After I am up @ 5:30, I curl my hair a bit, put on my makeup, pin my hair back & put on the dress with pretty lingerie underneathe. This outfit makes me feel so confident & pretty...the whole "getting dressed for dinner" thing is actually turning out to be kind of fun. (I doubt its something I would do so thoroughly every night, but every now & then is nice.) He will be home any moment at this time, so I go downstairs, warm everything, prepare his favorite cocktail & do a once over before I hear his keys in the door. He opens the door & takes a second look at me all done up & in my dress. He actually asks me where Im going! I tell him Im not going anywhere but the dinner table. I take his things, give him a big hug and kiss & tell him how happy I am that hes home. This is nothing new for him, I do this every day when he arrives. He takes off his own shoes @ the door (since they arent allowed on the carpet) & heads to the living room. I put his drink in front of him & he gives me a surprised smile. "Thank you!! After the day Ive had I could use this!" I want to tell him all about the things Ive done today but in the rules, you should always listen to him first. And Im kind of worried that he had a bad day so I ask what happened. He tell me about all the things that went wrong during his day while I rub his back & listen. He can literally see him relax all of his tension as I give him supportives squeezes when he tells me the worst parts & he sips his drink. When hes done, he looks at me & tells me he is happy to be home...and that something smells reallyyy good! I freshen his drink, hand him the remote & head to the kitchen. I prepare any last minute details & bring out the food. I have made a big production of dinner tonight. The fancy plates & silverware are out, all the food is on pretty serving platters & I light the candles. I tell him it's all ready & he comes to the table. He looks at the table & says it all almost looks too good to eat...as he sits down of course & starts to dig in! We eat & talk, share some extra special glances over the tables..and he tells me more than once how great everything is. I feel that like Ive just unlocked the secret to a happy marriage. He asks me about my day & he seems extra interested in listening. He is always a light hearted person, but tonight, he just seems extra happy by all my effort. When he's all done with his dinner, I serve him a slice of pie with a scoop of ice cream & we sit and share dessert. After we are all done eating, he retires to the living room where I make him one more cocktail & then I put the dishes away. He starts to dose off in front of his favorite evening show & when he go upstairs, my perfect wifely duties arent over. wink, wink! The sexy lingerie comes in handy!! Lol! 
I know that it is not plausible to make such a big production, but I am totally okay with trying to do my best everyday. And what guy wouldn't love to have a wife that showed him he was special & important, and listened & adored him? And even though I cook pretty much every night & let him know how much I love & appreciate him everyday, he noticed when I stepped it up a bit. And he was appreciative of me as well. I encourage you to try to make a little extra effort & not to get so comfy that you forget to show the other one they matter, everyday!