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Show Amazed and a little proud, they watched me finish business school, find an apartment, struggle through a job. r -- this l4Bat.whyustuJiYUke. 'when hotne is "soxomfortable?" Mother The,-youn- ' would-doiLw- e would sk.Why2erh had all been too comfortable! Pefhaps for some deep psychological reason I needed to prove my own worth. Anyhow, I worked and tasted freedom, and eventually I fell in love. k Unlike Mother and many of my friends, I know that 1 can domahy things: Moreover, a basket of mending, man was more richly endowed with character and charm than with capital Today Paul and I live in an old house with a new mortgage. The chimney needs cleaning; the front bell is broken. But in our house the back door is the one that's used not by service people but by three children and all our friends. It is the grand entrance to the kitchen where peanut butter and jelly are spread, wash is ironed, and coffee is sipped by neighbors. I've had to learn a lot over the years. The ork has often made me tired and cross, but the reason for doing it has made it worthwhile. Ten years later I still get a laugh and a thrill when a friend samples my cake and says, "Just like Mother used to make." Poor Mother, she never cooked a meal in her life; but I remember her admission of inadequacy the day she said sadly, "You know, Alice, I'm really a bird in a gilded cage. Father loves to show me off. Charities want me on paintmgecently,heshookher down-to-ear- "makes, head.-"I'- m a dilettante. Perhaps I should I child rawhoneeds paregoric, a starve in a garret, but unfortunately ? veT Money Position hungry husband, are all the proof I haliolncenti What do other people work for? I have need that I'm 100 percent necessary. --it already The struggle has m Which llf Is mor pnrpotfl? seemed worth anything because life has, Sometimes Paul and I drive out to been too easy." see old friends who have returned to to No Utopia the fashionable, brittle world in which After these jaunts, I come home and I was raised. Too much money can house is our harm anyone, particularly women. With look about gratefully. Our walk nurses for their kids and cooks for their own. We can raid the refrigerator, and entertain the extra kitchens, they have only leisure for barefooted, to tne help. themselves. Certainly, card parties, guest without apologizing fill For me, however, the best thing is charity benefits, and country clubs here where idle hours, but these, too, can become knowing that I belong right there's enough to do to keep me from as routine as mopping and dusting running in search of Utopia. without being as purposeful. Money does stralge things to men Not long ago an old friend informed and women. They begin to fear all us that she was getting a divorce. kinds of change. Possessions become "But you and John seemed so hapmore vital than people. Sometimes py," we said. to substitute for "It all looks so smooth on the sur- money even begins friendship. Not long ago we received a face," she replied, "so from an But leisure can be dangerous. You can beautiful anniversary present the old friend. Inside was an engraved get your fill of the best faces in a name. I use best places. You see them over and card no message, just chose the over again Pretty soon the excitement that gift sadly, for the giver easy way. She gave an impersonal thing is gone from life, and you find your a-si- g and forgot the handwritten note which would have meant more than the gift. It's easy, too; to forget the kinds of th worries, Droblems, the which plague most- - people. Money self looking around I don't know for what romance, a thrill, a chance to feel needed." Even creative people like Fran, a promising dungarUstrTacharpoiht-o- f no return. When we asked about her their boards. I've danced at cotillions and poured at teas. But I've never done anything real in my life. Tm a little scared sometimes wondering what I T ck- her-husba- sk well-order- v JI ' ;a , i ' - nd fam-Uie- two-pare- ed. fillip different planet. I hooe all of this doesn't sound as if I want Paul to be a failure. Any good to succeed. wile wants But success comes in various sizes. My ther was a big earner, and the larger his income became, the more excuses he had for his family. "Sorry, honey, board of directors meeting," were words that frequently choked my childhood. Paul is never too busy to read and play and supervise our children's s7 nt chores. We believe in We also believe that our boys must grow up knowing how to do things for themselves, manually as well as mentally, for men and women who have confidence born" of ability can meet what the future holds. Yes, my life is very different today. There are no maids and no mink. The pillows aren't puffed, and sometimes the corduroys don't get darned. But every job I do convinces me that I am a real parent and a full partner, not a mere household ornament for my husband and children. Life is a lot more fun when you're not burdened with too much. . f ' ' . 4 ij1 - ' (. J.;'v;va 7 - ... -- ' x Tift mi. 4, - .- , - - . : I J k . ,. v. . 1 . . ' to. J V .w, , - . . -- , . - ... iTjti w f V i"1' ' r i iKeteazs... H - i BABY. bHAMDHA T" Ij .. j ' JJ . ft from "soap in .... i the eyes ,i " 1 . v ' ,. I .. r .. i wdn!t BURN or IRRIWE like other shampoos Leaves hair sparkling clean, easy to comb. Lathers in hard or soft water, rinses out easily. Wonderful way to "baby" mother's hair, too. So pure,' so gentle the safest shampoo you can use! MAT 29. 1 955 FAMILY WflKlY MAGAZINI ; |