 Get
your work done
Plan your tasks with an eye on the clock.
Finish or interrupt them an hour before he is expected. Your anguished
cry, "Are you home already?" is not exactly a warm welcome.
Prepare yourself
Turn off the worry and be glad to be alive
and grateful for the man who is going to walk in. Take 15 minutes to rest
so you will be refreshed when he arrives. This will also make you happy
to see him instead of too tired to care. While you are resting you can
be thinking about all you can do to make him happy and give his spirits
a lift. When you arise, take care of your appearance. Touch up your makeup,
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.
His boring day may need a lift.
 Have dinner
ready
Plan ahead, even the night before, to have
a delicious meal-on-time. 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 prospects of a good meal
are part of the warm welcome needed.
 Clear away the clutter
Make one last trip through the main part of
the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books,
toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your
husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will
give you a lift, too. Having the house in order is another way of letting
him know that you care and have planned for this homecoming.
Prepare the children
Take a few minutes to wash the children's
hand 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 washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the
children to be quiet. Let them be a little noisy beforehand to get
it out of their system.
 Be happy
to see him
Greet him with a warm smile and act glad to
see him. Tell him that it is good to have him home. This may make his day
worthwhile. If there is any romance left in you, he needs it now.
Some don'ts.
Don't greet him with problems or complaints.
Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared
with what he might have gone through that day. Don't allow the children
to rush at him with problems or requests. Allow them to briefly greet their
father but save demands for later.
 Make him comfortable
Have him lean back into a comfortable chair
or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready
for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to massage his neck and shoulders
and take off his shoes. Turn on music if it is one of his pleasures. Speak
in a soft, soothing, pleasant voice. Allow him to relax - to unwind.
Listen to him
You may have a dozen things to tell him, but
the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.
 Make the evening
his
Never complain if he does not take you out
to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand
his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.
If he is cross or irritable, never fight back. Again, try to understand
his world of strain.
The Goal
Try to make your home a place of peace and
order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit. Then add
to this the application of all the principles of Fascinating Womanhood
and your husband will want to come home. He will rather be with you than
with anyone else in the world and will spend whatever time he can possibly
spare with you. Try living all of these rules for his homecoming and see
what happens! |