Eve Penman: An Empowered Housewife in Rural America

Q: What's the best way to make a bed? A: Sing a cadence song in your head! Make the Bed Cadence Drill by Eve Penman Rise and shine and make the bed Fluff those pillows for your head! Throw the covers back and let the sheets air Spray disinfectant* everywhere! It looks good (it looks good) It feels great (it feels great) To make the bed (to make the bed) Every day (every day)! Wash the sheets (wash the sheets) Once a week (once a week) To keep the bed (to keep the bed) Hygienic (hygienic) [pronounced hy-gen-eek]! Make the bed look nice and neat For a touch of luxury! When it’s time to get some rest A bed that’s made is the best! Start the day (start the day) The right way (the right way) Make the bed (make the bed) Right away (right away)! Make it look (make it look)  Real good (real good) Damn good (damn good) Like it should (like it should)! A messy bed is not for me A tidy bed is what I need! Making the bed is nothing to hate Mak...

Q: Can an empowered woman be a housewife? A: Only if she wants to! I recently came across a post on Tumblr entitled ’10 Important Points for a Wife’ and it had some good information, albeit vague, but I didn’t agree with everything and found it to be a bit too submissive for my liking.   As an over-40 GenXer who has been programmed with empowering feminism my whole life, not to mention I have a work history that's as long as the lifespan of a young 20-something housewife, I refuse -- refuse! -- to act like an inexperienced and submissive wife who doesn’t think for herself. Yet, at the same time, I don’t want to be overbearing or overpowering to my husband because that is not being a good partner, which is my ultimate goal as his duly licensed wife; and it’s a challenge that other women may have too if they received the same programming and have become housewives after leaving the feministic workforce where they spent most of their lives. I Refuse: Goldie Hawn in Over...

Q: What’s more important than making a lot of money? A: Keeping track of the money you make and not spending more than you make -- especially if you don’t make a lot! Granted, ‘a lot’ is a relative term when it comes to money and income. For instance, people who make over $100k in a year may think that making $60k/year is not a lot, whereas people who make $15k in a year may think that making $30k/year is a lot; therefore, ‘a lot’ is relative based on what a person’s got. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services sets yearly guidelines on poverty levels so there isn’t a need for anyone to guess at what ‘a lot’ is or isn’t in the eyes of the federal government; ‘poverty’ is still a fairly relative term though based on where a person lives due to the varying costs of living in different geographical areas of America. Relative terms aside, for the year 2019, the HHS poverty guidelines for income in a household of two in the 48 contiguous states and the Dist...