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Show Kathleen Norris Savs: ! Make Yourself Useful Lhins With Otliers Be Sv-dica- Wo, Fearrts. j I P. ' i fC i n p 4 C' Pil viX v I Everything 1 do displeases my mnther in lnu; yet she neier fiit ej a baby a bath or picks up a toy. l orst of all she implies to her friends that her son "married much beneath him." By KATHLEEN NORRIS WHEN a woman lives in the family of her married mar-ried son she ought to meet that son's wife at least halfway in the matter of keeping keep-ing the home serene. And if the daughter-in-law won't come halfway, she ought to go three-quarters of the way, or nine-tenths of the way. If she isn't willing to do this, then she ought not to be living there at all. If she has no income in-come and still isn't willing to make herself an agreeable and useful use-ful member of the younger household, house-hold, she should get a job. There are not, to be sure, a great many well-paid, easy, dignified jobs for women past 50, but there are always al-ways bathrooms in hospitals to clean, linen rooms in hotels to keep in order, dishes in restaurants to be washed. Since these are simple facts, and the very mothers-in-law themselves know that they are facts, how astonishing aston-ishing it is to find so many elderly women planted firmly in the homes of their sons, making a great deal of trouble, expecting a great deal of consideration, and acting generally as though there were a great many pleasanter lives they might be leading lead-ing and their remaining in the household was a sort of favor. Ingeborg is a fine young woman of Swedish descent who was a masseuse mas-seuse before her marriage. She and her doctor husband have four small sons. The doctor's mother lives with them. "Joe's mother." writes Inga, "occupied "oc-cupied tliis big house alone f' r many years, but it belongs to him. Whrn our living expenses had to he ; stretched to take care of four children chil-dren and two servants mit was a srrious prnMcm. As thrre were about six unoccupied bedrooms here and plenty of pardon sj are. he sm- I tested to h.s ni '.her that we cm-b.ne cm-b.ne forrcs. and at that time she j I was del thlei wil-h the idea. 1 was I i ill for months af'rr LKe t .ri w.rre b om. and a'.th----.gh I was c.t.sc.-.s of friction here and thrre. it is only no, uhrn 1 am well strain, that I reai.re s rr.e 1 1 the ri :' r ji: -s ,,f hav.r g tAo r- ;:rf 'fi in the h j A Trouhlrmakcr. 'M n. " T-.n-l.i a ." the 1-"t r.f; ir,, '.( : e k r r ; -i - n " t ! r .r h-r f - -r r'or Lh f r , s r s r r t - . s a r n j in ti e i f in r f ri . t A ' i r : r ; ' It : - r " ! - r -r rf f . " t at t-T r i ; f hfT'".-'r-: - !; t - '. - - r ' r, r- y h ' ; - f t ; r ' : . :r ( niii''r-.-. o. - - - - i - 1 ' - ' r r ; Cr r t f : - - i r t : C i - : t - e t r - ' . - ' r t - o ; - ; i . , j ; ' : : i - ' h : t : " - : ! ot-L'- r . c: n -t' i f ii:-- t - l t :-, - - -tt l r - 'i f - - ; - '1 - - ! :.--. . r - :- . i - ; ' . a ' - ; ." ' t - ' f 1 t - ; - j . ; - : I - r - ' - - r : ; ' - I I i ?:- ' . ...... ir.i -i vt : t ; ' t . . : . i : i t k : f r t ' . : i - r-i , -; - I t . i f - ; ;-. ; t a - a - HALF THE WAY If you are the sort of person per-son who is careful to go half the way toward making life pleasant for those around you, Kathleen Morris has a message especially for vou. She writes this week of those who hesitate hesi-tate to go three-quarters of the way, or even all the way if n eccssary, toward ma k i n g themselves useful and agree-able. agree-able. H e never live completely complete-ly alone, site says, for there are always fellow cm ployccs, neigh bors and others with whom we should remain on friendly terms. So we must inevitably in-evitably learn to do not only our share, but a little bit more noise; your Mommy would have everything so quiet and orderly for you!' Eut she never gives a baby a bath or picks up a toy. "Worst of all, she implies to all her friends that Joe married very much beneath him. 'I think, everything every-thing considered, Inpa does very well,' she will say purrinIy. Or, 'Suppose we pronounce that word this way, dear?' And she keeps telling tell-ing me of the rich, fashionable fcirls Joe mifiht have married. Also I get sick of her saying, 'When my son came to live in my dear old home. On hrr $75 a month she couldn't keep up a place like this; Joe paid o(T more than $3,000 in bills for her when we moved in. Srrks a Solution. My solution fr your prot Irm, Ingn. would be the siigizostjon that , you and Joe study the I Ian of that ( old house, to see whether thrre 18 1 a poss.h;l:!y of d.viding ofT a mite i of two or thrre rooms fnr his mother, moth-er, giving her hf r own r- lranr e if P'-.Mr, hrr own srr a! k V h--n ur.:t if it is only a two. r, re p r, s Vurrrr j and hrr own ba'hr'rrm In a w - rd, j hr r own r ', u 1 . V, r, :,t. This n.i:ht c -t f rr.r r r. Jrr-! in j the hr r r.r.ir.g. but it wu..d b? a E'.d ir.vri'n.rnt. krr; i ; th s nn- ! rr a s, n ri i r u r: it n ;n V r- h't fvt v,-p, kf r; ,; : ! rr r. r,r I t r t n r,-J , Crar,'. t ,t f ; ; r ' . - c hr I I,' 'i'f r.'r; - C f: y . : ( r r p ) frr-r 'i f: :, 'r ,': r ' - 'h a ;. ;t , an ' - y r '-"r t-i frJ i - - ; '; ' y r, V 1 r -( n j Y 1 ' e 1 -' ' r ,t ..n v " r- ' r- , ,r 1 .- . ' ' ' ! r;.' r , t r ( r : r t ' - t k V t , , ' f' r 'i ft--- t - t ir, t ' f 7' T - r ' i--:t - . f i ' - - - t ' f : , f ' K " v I r i . 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