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Thinking Pleasant Thoughts: 1950′s Style
March 8th, 2010 | 
Author: By Toni
Being a stay-at-home mom, so often I hear from other mom’s that the number one challenge they face isn’t how to get out their budding Van Gogh’s “art work” off of the sofa or what the secret is to getting your cheesecake not to crack on top. The number one challenge I hear from stay-at-home mom’s is time management.
For those of you who are employed full-time, you may find it hard to believe that this even a possibility. What can we stay-at-home moms be doing all day to take up so much time that we can’t keep our schedules straight? I can only speak for myself, but between the housework, the cooking, the homeschooling, the errands, and the never-ending pile of laundry my days are a hectic blur of nonstop craziness. Add on to that my husband’s schedule and my kid’s.. well, you get the idea.
Photo Courtesy: Antiques Road Show
I am fortunate enough to have in my possession a Second Edition (Fourth Printing) of the “Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book” that is in mint condition. It is from the year 1956, when women didn’t have the luxury of such things as washing machines and dish washers. In it, I found a page titled “Special Helps” with all sorts of fun tidbits to help the modern woman of the fifties make her day run more smoothly. I thought if they worked for the ladies of the fifties, whose to say it wouldn’t work for the modern woman of today? The gems I found are such as:
- Harbor pleasant thoughts while working. It will make every task lighter and pleasanter.
- Notice humorous and interesting incidences to relate at dinnertime when family is together.
- Eat proper food for health and vitality. Every morning before breakfast, comb hair, apply makeup, a dash of cologne, and perhaps some simple earrings. Does wonders for your morale.
- Do head work while dusting, sweeping, washing dishes, paring potatoes, etc. Plan family recreation, the garden, etc.
- If you feel tired, lie down on the floor on your back, put your hands above your head, close your eyes, and relax for three to five minutes.
Yes, the ladies of the fifties, certainly had a much fuller plate than the modern stay-at-home mother of today. I am willing to bet that even for our grandmothers, time management was a challenge. Especially while lying on the floor, thinking pleasant thoughts.
So the next time you are at your son’s soccer game, and your cell phone’s SIM card erases your entire yearly family schedule, right as your husband calls to say that he has to fly out of town to work for the next week, the very minute your daughter breaks her Nintendo DS in two – take a tip from your grandmother. Stop, drop, and just breathe, honey.
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I have that cookbook too! I love it! I am trying to implement some of the tips and I have to say, it isn’t always realistic to put on make up and jewelry when I know I’m not leaving the house all day, but I do seem to feel better when I do. Still working on finding the three to five minutes to lay down though…
I’m thinking that if I were to lay down on the floor like that for 3-5 min, I would end up falling alseep for 3-5 hours. Haha!
Do head work while dusting, sweeping, washing dishes, paring potatoes, etc. Plan family recreation, the garden, etc. (LOL, my head doesn’t work half of the time). Family recreation? Go watch TV or play on your computer. The garden? What garden, I have weeds.
Stop, drop, and breathe. I’ll have to remember that.
I agree, Shandal. If I stopped and laid down I cannot be held liable for my actions beyond that point. =)
Love it!
Love this post
Both of my grandmothers passed away before I had children, and I often wonder how they did it. One of them had 4 children in 6 years. How, how, how?? I have so many questions I want to ask. Thanks for the little gems!
Oh my gosh this is so funny! I could just imagine how many times I day I’d be laying on the ground trying to breath!
SO TRUE! Great post… and I’m right there with ya. Between the homeschooling (one in 5th and one in 2nd) and housework and working on “me” (i.e. carving out time to remember who I am = usually during exercise), where does the day go?!?! I’ll remind myself to “stop (in mountain pose no less), drop (in corpse pose), and breathe (’cause sometimes I forget to)”. Thanks! (There are WAY too many parentheses in his comment…)
Ditto Shanda and Toni – 3 to 5 minutes would see me waking up about 30 to 50… to an hour or two later! And it would be lovely. It doesn’t happen many days for me, but I agree with combing the hair and putting on at least some mascara, lipgloss and earrings. On the days I do a little something to make myself feel prettier, I ALWAYS seem to have a smoother, happier day. I think it’s because I don’t keep passing myself in the mirror and being beaten down by the reflection. Great post!!
I work full time outside the home, I have four kids and dogs and cats and a partner-I almost dare say that time-management is an issue for ANY parent, whether they are SAHM’s or Working outside the home moms. And I would also fall asleep if I lay down falt for 3-5 minutes; who really does that anymore?
Love this post. If I lay down for a few minutes, I don’t think I would get up.
Can I burn that book? Kidding….kind of.
Tamara
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nice post. thanks.