The Myth of the 50's Wife

The day I got married, my life turned upside down and inside out. For a while there I couldn't tell you which way was North and which was South. It took me a little while to get into the groove of things. My biggest worry was being the perfect 50's wife. I had to make sure my husband was getting a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner that tasted better then his mother's. I thought our house needed to be spotless- every dish washed immediately, every clothed into the wash and back in the closet ASAP, and to be constantly available for sex. I don't know about you, but being a 50's wife is kinda really exhausting all by itself. BUT, let us not forget that I, myself, had a full time job and a scholarship to keep at the University. I made the decision to push off going to school for one semester. I needed to learn all this Wifey stuff they didn't teach in high school. Seriously though, someone needs to teach a class Marriage 1010- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I got into this really bad habit of apologizing every time I let the cookies cook a minute too long, I left one strand of hair in the shower, I even apologized that his clothes were still scattered on the floor at night. The thought of being the perfect 50's wife haunted me. This idea that my home needed to be perfectly perfect was taking over my life and quite honestly, my marriage. After only 3 months of being married, our relationship was waning, which made me even more sick. So... I prayed. I prayed to be the wife my husband needs. I prayed the God would forgive me for neglecting my marital vows which stated NOTHING about making dinner every night and cleaning up every little mess in the house. I prayed for guidance in my marriage. That night as I started to do the dishes, a thought occurred to me to STOP. I shrugged it off, thinking I was letting my laziness take over. Then again... "Stop." So I quit. I left the dishes in the sink, I left the clothes on the floor, and I walked straight to my husband and hugged him. I talked with him, I laughed with him, we cuddled, and left all our worried at the door. That was the turning point in my marriage. That night, I realized what marriage was all about. Being a wife doesn't mean making a house perfect castle, it means making a house a HOME. And at my home, we laugh with each other, we talk with each other, we play with each other, we help and learn from each other. Now to be clear, dinner still needs to be made, dishes still needs to be clean, and the floor still needs to be vacuumed. But, my husband comes first, and he needs the woman he married- the one he fell in love with, not a maid in the kitchen. Being a perfect wife is not the definition of a 50's wife. Being a perfect wife is being a best friend, a helping hand, an encouraging word, and a lover to my husband. Don't let myth of the 50's wife fool your marriage.