A Good Wife...

Ryan sent this to me by email the other day. I laughed for the entire read. I think you girls will really appreciate this ;) It comes from the 1955 Housekeeping Monthly on what makes a good Housewife. Interested already? Read and weep:

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 ect. and then run a dust cloth 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 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 vacum. 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 and 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. Don't complain if he is home late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

15. 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.

16. Arrange his pillow and offer to take of his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

17. Don't ask him 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.

18. A good wife always knows her place.

Now thats my kind of woman ;) On a more serious note, though some of this is excessive, I think (very tentatively) that this article does offer some good pointers on how wifes can serve their husbands. Most likely this article would offend many women in today's world, but I believe their is some scriptural support for it.
If you examine the structure of such passages as Proverbs 31 or Titus 2, the language very much falls into place with the concept of this article. Please don't misunderstand me, I am not advocating some of the lines such as "his topics of conversation are more important than yours", all I am saying is that if both husband and wife alike have servant oriented dispositions toward each other it establishes a foundation of Christ-like love that will lead to a God glorifying marriage.

-Kyle-