The Good Wife's Guide
 

1. 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 favorite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.
5. Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper etc and then run a dishcloth over the tables.
6. 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.
7. 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, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
8. Be happy to see him.
9. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
14. 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.
15. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
16. 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.
17. A good wife always knows her place.

OK...I wanted to add to my above post. A coworker of mine gave me this today. The original article came from a magazine dated May 13, 1956. I just found it amusing how times have changed. I don't know that I would be a wife if I lived back then. What do y'all think of the article??????


Allison

Ooh, I think I'm going to get mauled for saying this, but...

I don't think it's that terrible... a little old fashioned, maybe, but when I get married, I'd like to do most of those things for my husband... I don't think there's anything wrong with showing a little appreciation for the one you love the most :)

:eek: :eek: :eek: You know, I remember reading something like this before. Even though this was published in the dark ages, I'm almost offended by this!!! "catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction" WTF? Oh, and can't forget my favorite one: "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." Wow...just wow. It's amazing how far we've come

Holly

P.S. A good wife always knows her place? I got your place right here b*tch!!

Well, I am going to have to say this would probably be ok if the woman was a housewife and didn't have a job. This is the real world and more women these days are in the workforce and don't have the kind of time to dedicate to their husbands.

Is it just too obvious to point out that this was written almost fifty years ago?

Both men and women thought a whole lot differently then. Most women didn't work outside the home. The divorce rate was much lower. Most families where single income (the husband's in almost all cases)

This was also the era when housewives on TV mopped the floor wearing high heeled shoes. Painful!

However, my grandparents (who raised me) would not have had any problem with this list -- although my grandmother wouldn't be "freshening" up her makeup since she didn't wear any.

Different times and economic situations lead to different expectations and behaviors.

Would this kind of thing fly today? Of course not. It shouldn't. But fifty years ago (when I was only 5), why not? It was a different society.

1. Have dinner ready: Make reservations ahead of time. If your day becomes too hectic just leave him a voice mail message regarding where you'd like to eat and at what time. This lets him know that your day has been crappy and gives him an opportunity to change your mood.

2. Prepare yourself: A quick stop at the "LANCOME" counter on your way home will do wonders for your outlook and will keep you from becoming irritated every time he belches at the table. (Don't forget to use his credit card!)

3. Clear away the clutter: Call the housekeeper and let her know you'll need her for an extra day this week. Tell her that any miscellaneous items left on the floor by the children can be placed in the Goodwill box in the garage.

4. Prepare the children: Drop them off at grandma's!

5. Minimize the noise: When he arrives at home remind him that the washer and garbage disposal are still not working properly and the noise is driving you crazy (but do this in a nice way and greet him with a warm smile...this way he might fix it faster).

6. Some DON'TS: Don't greet him with problems and complaints. Let him speak first, and then your complaints will get more attention and remain fresh in his mind throughout dinner. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Simply remind him that the last one home does the cooking and the cleanup.

7. Make him comfortable: Remind him where he can find a warm fuzzy blanket if he's cold. This will show you really care.

8. Listen to him: But don't ever let him get the last word.

9. Make the evening his: a chance to get the washer and garbage disposal fixed.

10. The Goal: To try to keep things amicable without reminding him that you make more money than he does.

I like aephi alum's list more. :D

I like the part about her making a lot more money. It would take a lot of stress off of me.

aephi alum

I feel you! That sounds good, at least better than the other one. Although I was raised in a sense like the first one but you know it is the new mellinium. :p LOL

Normally this would offend me, but honestly, now that I'm living with my soon-to-be husband, I do the above things (some) out of the goodness of my heart...not because it's my TITLE.
And likewise, I don't think there is anything wrong with a man doing the above things for his woman.
It's not about obligations...it's about treating other's as you would want to be treated. And if I have time and am feeling extra nice, I'll prepare a cooked meal for Will before he gets home...I'll clean up the place a little...etc. But never has he demanded it from me or expected me to!

Ok as a happy housewife, I have to say I think that list is complete crap. Especially with the hours my husband works......he never comes home at the same time from night to night and we rarely eat dinner together. As far as keeping my voice low, bringing him a drink, rubbing his feet, etc.......geez, they may as well come right out and say "Be sure to give your husband a relaxing blowjob when he arrives, to ease the stress of his day." We take care of each other around here.....and the only master of the house is our stupid dog.

I thought it was a pretty nice list from a guy's point of view.

If you add Ruber Souls suggestion: "Be sure to give your husband a relaxing blowjob when he arrives, to ease the stress of his day."

I can almost guarentee you a pretty smooth relationship with a guy that will be the envy of all his friends :D.

It would go along way to make sure there was no marital strife ;)

About the first list...

I have to be honest, it really rubs me the wrong way. I understand that fifty years ago this list was acceptable, however it still sounds disrespectful. It makes the wife sound insignificant as a human being. Who was she supposed to talk to about her thoughts and feelings? Oh that's right, the other housewives. Give me a break.:rolleyes:

I'm not saying that doing nice things for your husband is a bad thing. I'm all for taking care of my significant other - along the lines of, I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.

aephi alum...I like your list. Very funny.:D

Of course it rubs you the wrong way. It would be amazing if it didn't given the context of society in 2002.

But it was written 50 years ago, and probably should be the reason for a couple of good chuckles -- not a lot of heartburn.

To say it again, things were a whole lot different then. You simply can't critique something like this given the vastly different social climates then and now.

I'm not an expert, but I've lived long enough to have seen and understand both.

It wasn't disrespectful, just different than things are now.

By the way, I think my wife who graduated from college cum laude and now owns her own business, but chose to stay home and raise our kids instead of farming them out to day care; and who sat on an international board of directors for a not-for-profit organization with chapters in over eighty countries, would probably find your comment about, "other housewives. Give me a break," totally disrespectful of how she chose to live her life. I don't think you meant it that way, but consider how it might sound to someone else.

Then let's give whomever wrote that list (who is very likely dead by now anyway) a little mental slack.