“WHEN THE DAY IS DONE---”

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 19, 15 October 1937, Page 37 (Supplement)

“WHEN THE DAY IS DONE---”

THE EVENING MEAL Handliiu* Hungry Men

v- The most 'critical moment in the day's -wdjrk for - the . . good\ wife in the farm hoine; .is when the men folk troop in for their dinner. , Ten ^ chances to one their faces will wear -that ) tired, half-impatient,;' giy'e-me-something-to-eat, •, I-am-starvihg,' kind of look. ' '.Hnngry men must be handled witli • care, and that is >the" time when a good hoiisewife can prove herself equal.to jthe oceasion by having a sizzling .roast, and stea'ming hot -dinner, ready.on the 'table,;by--the Hime the men have washed their faces and co.mbed -their hair. -- Then' watch them pull in their chairs and- get : busy. • :>•; Most likely, they won't ask "how.V the - dinner - got - there, - and probably never think that perhaps baby has cried for'honrs, oi* oi the roasting hot day it has been in the kitchen. Their whole attention will be concentrated on satisfying that gnawing hunger. It is after they have finished eating that they will begin to look around and notice things. They might then note, that, mother, looks tired and that young Ben seems a bit crochety, and even remaxk what a scorcher of a day it has been. In fact, it is after they have eaten that men generally wax eloquent about seores of things, and as they. push back their chairs and stretch their legs feel they are jolly good fellows. Now, that's the time for a husband to prove himself, and.if he doesn 't say, "My word, mother, that was a great dinner ; the roast was prime, and as for the gravy and vegetables, and the apple pie — well, as I have said before, if you want a good meal come to# mother." Yes, if he doesn 't say something like that, and remember that he might give a hand with the dishes, and come to think of it, have a look at the wood pile, and see if the coal-tin needs filling, in my opinion he is a poor kind of husband. .» Y ou can f orgive a man a great deal when he is hungry if , after he is fed, he remembers that it takes some fuel to keep the kitchen fires going, and that a few words of encouragement and a helping hand go a long way .towards lightening the load and brightening the way for mother. • •«. .