The Accidental Trad Wife

Working from home

My husband worked from home for the first couple of hours today. It made me self conscious about what I was doing. How will he feel seeing me in this new role? Will he think I’m doing enough for the home? Should I put my chores to the side until he’s left so I don’t distract him while he’s taking calls? 

I decided to follow my new routine while he was at his desk in the spare room: wash last night’s dishes, clean the kitchen, bleach the bathroom, take dry washing off the airers, put another load in the machine and generally potter and tidy.

A constant stream of calls came into my husband’s phone. I overheard him deal with one issue, immediately get another call, deal with that issue, this went on for about a dozen calls before 10am. I can tell he’s great at his job, just like I used to be. I don’t miss the constant calls, but it made me reflect on the satisfaction I got from working. 

Manicuring 

My nails are a mess. All the bleach and various other cleaning products are making the varnish chip off. I need to start wearing marigolds. I decide to do my nails and hope my husband doesn’t think this is all I’ll be doing today.

I’ve got more free time now, I can put more effort into painting my nails. I wondered if it would be more fitting for a Trad Wife to go to a salon. But for week one, I’ll still do them myself. 

Base coat, cure with UV lamp, black varnish, cure again, second coat of black varnish, cure again, dab metallic shimmer powder onto the nails, rub in the powder, clear top coat, cure a final time, wipe over with ‘Prep and wipe’. It took me about an hour and a half. They look beautiful, gold under some lights, fuchsia in others. 

My husband left to drive to a meeting in Peterborough while I was in the middle of doing my nails. He came over to kiss me goodbye. He might be back tonight, he might not, he says he’ll let me know. This is normal for us, he works away a lot. I previously enjoyed the time alone to decompress, I’m not so sure I will now.

I roll my eyes to myself as he walks down the stairs, I should have got up to kiss him at the door. This is becoming my favourite part of the day.

Tips from the past

There’s no big tasks to do today. I decide to open the 1956 ‘Young Wives’ Encyclopaedia’ to see if there’s any golden advice I can bring into my new life. 

In a section on beauty: ‘Imitate a cat by scratching on a cake of soap before starting on a dirty job in the garden or house when it is impossible to wear gloves.’ There’s some logic in that one, although I’m not quite sure under what circumstances popping on your marigolds wouldn’t be possible.

Under ‘Fits’ in a section on medicine: ‘Loosen all tight clothing, put a cork between the patient’s teeth to prevent the tongue being bitten, and afterwards allow to rest and sleep.‘ I better not follow everything in this book, as the current advice is to keep corks, spoons and anything else out of a seizing person’s mouth. 

An answer to an old wives’ tale: ‘Butter on a cat’s paws will prevent it from straying. This depends entirely on the cat!’ I’ll have to adopt and butter a cat to find out whether this is correct. 

The book ends with a lovely section on ‘Zest in the home’: ‘One of the golden rules for the happy housewife and the happy home is to be able to work to a plan without adhering so rigidly to routine that you cannot take time off to enjoy yourself.’ That advice seems just as sound today as it was 69 years ago. I decide to spend the next few hours taking care of myself, a long shower, a face mask and a nap. Day by day my stress is lifting. 

Another evening, another home cooked meal

I decided to make a lasagne. If my husband’s home, I’ve got something ready, if he’s not, lasagne is often better the next day anyway. 

I’ve just realised it’s been a pretty Italian heavy in this week’s dinners. Arrancini, gnocchi, pasta, pizza and now lasagne. This isn’t intentional, and we do both love Italian food, but I’ll mix it up more next week. 

I kiss my husband at the door. I time it so that the lasagne is ready 10 minutes after he gets home, so he has a chance to shower first. I’ve set out a clean white towel on his side of the bed. We have another lovely evening together chatting on the couch. Today was another good day. 

The Trad Wife round up:

Cats buttered: 0
Nails cured: 10
Work calls: 0
Kisses at the door: 1