Hello. I’m a (somewhat) new housewife.
I cannot correctly call myself ‘new’ as my husband and I did celebrate our second wedding anniversary in December. I attended my best friend’s wedding the day right after my own wedding and did the entire woe-dispelling-with-money routine that married ladies are supposed to do here; so, you see, I was an old bride the very next day. Besides, nearly half the people I know are collectively in the ‘marriageable’ age category and considering they are marrying left, right and centre, I’m half of quite an antiquated couple now.
I do, however, consider myself a somewhat new housewife as only recently have I started managing my home. A couple of months ago, I quit my job (more on that some other time) and took the decision to be a full-time home managing wife. Considering I was already an old bride, the late transition into the housewife role was especially frustrating. If you have trouble following me, imagine living in a house for a year and a half not knowing how the washing machine worked, and the complete cluelessness when being suddenly asked to run it. My housewifely faux pas were varied: making a decent pot of green tea terrified me; I was cheerfully unaware of the complexities that are maids. I was never required to cook so I happily never bothered. In my defense though, my maid is heaven-sent and I…did what a 9 to 6er had to do: take no more stress than you absolutely have to!
I am not dictating that it is the duty of a wife to know all these things or to perform them. A lot of fantastic wives (I can include my name – just checked with my husband) are never real housewives. I come from a very ‘conservative’ school of thought which encourages wives to demand recompense for any house-y duties performed. I am merely sharing my belief that it gives a woman additional confidence in herself if she knows how to efficiently run things around her. Whether it is the house, social activities, work, family business or the husband’s bank accounts, the wife is more confident if she knows. There was a lot that I still needed to know while I was working full time. Now that I have taken some time off from work, I am having a lot of fun learning things that I never got round to. :)
P.S. The washing machine and I became friends five months ago. I have learnt that she likes front load Surf Excel, any fragrant fabric softener, monthly cleaning and an occasional nod of appreciation. In return she cleans the clothes I give her every other day.
