Monday, March 05, 2007

The Good Wifes Guide or the Diary of a Bad Housewife


Today my mother-in-law from my first husband sent me an article in Housekeeping Monthly dated May 13, 1955, a list of things to do to be a good wife so we could all laugh.
Some of the suggestions were:
1. 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 real need to be at home and relax.
2. 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.
3. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
4. 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.
5. Great him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him
6. A good wife always knows her place.
WHAT A PILE OF SHIT!
To think that not so many years ago I believed that pile-o-crap!
When I was a young woman 17 or 18, Vilate (my mother in law) gave me a book called Fascinating Womanhood. I did not have a clue how to be a wife and mother. So I followed the book to the letter. My also young husband Russ really liked me acting like that perfect wife. In fact he ate it up with a spoon. Problem was I was playing a role and was not being myself. I got so angry at him and at me that I would swear, smoke, drink and run around with my girlfriends being wild and rebellious behind his back. The book came to symbolize the loss of me, my dreams, desires and my freedom. Like I say, I was very young and impressionable. Later, I burned by bra, got divorced, worked a mans job and got a mans pay check and learned how to be a bitch. Like I said I was very very young and naive. 30 some odd years later we can laugh at the people we once were. It was not so funny at the time. But to tell you the truth if given the opportunity, I would set the timer back and do it all over again every precious excruciating second.

1 comment:

Patti Gibbons said...

JUDY!!!! oh I still run around and curse and drink and sometimes smoke w/my girlfriends and love every single moment of it. Loved it 30 years ago, and still love it today. I too took a man's job ...was a truck driver/mechanic for U-Haul..lololol......are you sure you don't have a long lost sister??????

Thanks for your ever oh so supportive notes to me......they make me smile in the most difficult moments. I embrace it all. xxxpatti