Excerpt from a guide distributed in Ontario Schools to instruct young
women of the day in caring for their husbands Circa 1950's.

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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.

Have dinner ready:  Plan ahead, 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.

Prepare yourself:  Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when
he arrives.  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.

Clear away the clutter:  Make one last trip through the main part of the
house just before your husband arrives, gather up school books, toys,
paper, etc. Then run a dustcloth over the tables.  Your husband will
feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a
lift too.

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 noise of
washer, dryer, dishwasher or vaccum.  Try to encourage the children to
be quiet.

Be happy to see him:  Greet him with a warm smile and act glad to see
him.

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.

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. 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 doesn't 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.

The goal:  Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your
husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

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