| Show KATHLEEN KA NORRIS Grandparents Devoted Sitters n Y MARRIED life lite has had hadt MY but t one real trial In it ft writes a St. St Louis woman who signs O. Molly That Is the presence of my husbands husband's mother in the house half halt the thc year She died last year Before that she went to keep house for tor a widower son in Florida every winter came cameto to us in May and did not leave until October Gann was was a sweet woman lovely with my children and on two occasions took a small boy south with her for tor the entire win win- ter We never quarrelled but at atthe atthe atthe the same time I never forgot what I considered the injustice of ot my husbands husband's expecting me to have another woman in my household continually She was an excellent housekeeper and cook and never Intruded in any way on our parties or trips but I am of the school that believes firmly that old people dont don't belong in young homes That brings me to today's lem My oldest daughter is a sweet going easy-going great big girl who is marrying a man in every way suited to her he owns a fine old suburban house inherited from his father and he and Carolyn are already talking of the family they mean mean to raise The problem is his mother and father who have been living in the old house Harold charging them with neither rent nor taxes and in fact paying a nominal board They propose to stay Harold wants them to stay and to my distress Carolyn appears perfectly satisfied with the proposed proposed proposed pro pro- posed arrangement Threat to Marriage l Having suffered law in-law troubles most of my married life I feel justified in objecting strenuously to this thIl plan I dont don't think Carolyn c 1 R 11 devoted to 10 Ih the babies at 21 Is In a position to forsee what it means To have two old persons at the table breakfast-table at the lunch- lunch table and at the table dinner-table seems to me as real a threat to married life as any that could be imagined Carolyn's father is as easily upon imposed-upon as she Is and says to let time show whether it will work or not I say tell them now that the house is Harolds Harold's and that he wants it and oblige them hem to make some other arrangement arrangement arrangement arrange arrange- ment which they could on modest terms afford allord I know that in one of ot your articles articles ar- ar this agitated letter ends you say that families are better apart Your word will have influence in- in fluence with Carolyn and with her father tather Will you advise her Unfortunately O Molly I am very much with Carolyn and Harold Harold Harold Har Har- old in this particular case Here Is an amiable unexacting girl marrying an affectionate and easygoing easygoing easy easy- going man with the prospect of moving in with a loving couple of ot elders who sound pleasantly comfortable comfortable comfortable com com- housemates too You seem to be the disagreeable element in all this MollIe Mollie O. 0 You never forgot the injustice of a situation that must have been a areal areal areal real advantage to you moat most of at the time Today's frantic young parents parents parents par par- searching for reliable sitters and paying these thes sitters more for an evening than we used to pay a good maid for a week would be extremely glad of ot the services of ofa a Gann who not only expects no pay at all but is as devoted to the babies as their parents are Your sensible girl wants a family perhaps she is smart enough to know that Gran and Gramp are all ready-made ready to help her with that family Live and Let Live It seems to me that the rising genera generation tion in America needs one lesson it is to live and let live We raise our children to feel teel that everything must be arranged inthe inthe in inthe the most pleasant and least responsible responsible responsible re re- re- re way possible And the minute things go wrong wrong wrong-as as of course they will will there there is the ready divorce cour court and a chance to plunge into fresh mistakes and I Some weeks ago I went to the wedding of an old friends friend's only daughter The girl has and will have considerable wealth and her farsighted father showed me the divorce settlement signed and sealed before the wedding In the papers at about that time was the story of ot a girl divorcing her husband because after three years of happy happ matrimony spent in Fifth Avenue shops night clubs and parlors beauty-parlors she found herself herself herselt her her- self headed for motherhood and andin andin andin in a fury went off to Reno where she is now |
