Is there something to be learned from the schedule of a 1950s housewife?

There was a season in my life where I loved watching old movies—especially drawn to the elegance of the 1950’s fashion and films like Breakfast at Tiffanies, Sabrina and Roman Holiday with actress Audrey Hepburn.  While a house full of boys doesn’t lend itself to frequently watching old romantic movies, to this day, my favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.  There is something about the style and elegance of the 1950s that feels simple and clean.  History tells us that the time came full of difficulties, and the movies often show only the glamor without the hardships. Regardless, I find myself with a desire to get lost at times in that era.

Recently I read an article about the Daily Schedule for a 1950’s Housewife.  It includes freshen up, completing a ten-minute exercise routine, gathering a basket for tidying up, and reviewing the menu for the current day.  In all, this list included thirty-six daily routines that fell under the responsibility of a housewife.  While it is easy to look at that list and consider it out of date, old-fashioned, I wonder?  I wonder if, in all our modern, more feminist ways, we haven’t lost some part of the art-making around creating a home? 

In Shauna Nequists book Bread and Wine, she talks about her mother’s desire to give her all the opportunities available, meaning she didn’t spend any time learning in the kitchen.  Many children of baby boomers found themselves lacking in the art of homemaking due to their mothers’ good intentions.  The generations before us worked so incredibly hard to win equal rights, provide opportunities and gift the next generations of women flexibility to pursue careers outside the home.  Hard-won opportunities combined with the modern convenience of pre-packed food made learning the art of cooking and homemaking unnecessary for many.   

Pausing for a side note: To be clear I am thankful for the hard work of the women of generations before us, many of whom opened doors of opportunities.  And before going on, let me clarify that as a mother of boys, I work hard to raise my boys to be functional in the home.  My reflection is not merely about women and the need for more or better homemaking skills.   But rather how maybe, in general, we’ve forgotten the value in making a home.

So often, we feel as if we must pick one thing over another.  Pursue a career, follow passions, or be a stay at home mom.  We argue over what is best, from homeschooling to working moms, we state opinions as if they are best for everyone.  But maybe what is best for you isn’t what feeds my soul. Perhaps you hate the kitchen, but you find satisfaction in your work. Maybe I struggle to work outside the home but find joy tending to my family’s daily needs.  So I find myself asking, in our efforts to do better,  have we lost some of the beauty and art in the tending of our homes?

Somedays, I feel as if I could live in my kitchen.  The smell of freshly baked bread or sauteed onions, I find deeply calming.  There are days I feel as if I could spend all day, lost in a book, a story of someone else’s adventures—imaginations running wild in other cultures, seasons, or worlds.  Sometimes I feel as if I could get lost in managing my home, cleaning out closets, fluffing pillows on beds, and rearranging furniture or decor.  Something is freeing about decluttering and resetting the house.  Some days I find myself missing the seasons of life that required me to dress in business suits and high heels, and others, I long for sweatshirts and blue jeans.   When did we decide that we had to be one thing, that we had to fit into a category?  Can I not be a writer who loves to cook?  A teacher who also loves being called Mom.  A businesswoman who loves decorating her home and appreciates art.  

Lately, I imagine my life as a 1950s housewife, simply focused on tending my home.  Wearing pearls around my neck, aprons as I cook and clean.  (This visual compliments of rewatching the 2009 movie Julie and Julia) I long to find myself stopping for tea or coffee when my neighbor stops by mid-morning to catch up on the town’s local comings and goings.  It seems such a simple life—meatloaf for dinner and apple pie for dessert, once a week, every week.  But then I realize I would miss my comfy pants, my Pinterest board full of ideas.  I would miss connections across miles and international flavors in my home-cooked meals.  

Is it possible to live in two worlds simultaneously?  Can we roll back time to when life felt less cluttered, slow the pace, and enjoy the gifts of a time past?  While at the same time embracing all that we love in this modern world.   Is it possible to hold the tension between what was good about days gone by while embracing all that we have access to in our modern world?

This reflecting, this is the journey I find myself on these days?  I find myself attempting to hold the tension between modern conveniences, expectations, opportunities while longing for a slower pace of life, to live fully present in my home, with my people, in the community.  

Maybe it is old age, a body-worn out, tired, and looking for a reprieve. Perhaps the slower pace required in the pandemic life has brought on a new realization that I don’t want to go back to what was before. Perhaps it is the realization that we are left with only a few short years with our children still at home.  Maybe a combination of all these things is demanding space for me to consider. 

Have you ever paused to consider the art of tending your home?  

Do you think about the beauty of gathering your people around a table, with good food, laughter, and conversation?

Is there something to be learned from the schedule of a 1950s housewife?  

These days I find myself inspired by books, podcasts, posts related to food, home, slowing down, and gathering together. Below are a few things I have recently read or am reading right now. And if you’ve been around me at all, you know how I love to share good things with my friends. I’m even making space for a fiction book about female journalists set during WWII just for fun. And a link to the article that includes a daily schedule of a 1950s housewife. Other than the book links to amazon (which are affiliate links) I am not affiliated with the other things I have shared. I am just passing on some things I am enjoying these days. Things that are feeding my worn-out soul.