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Show Kathleen No rris Says: Take It and Like It Bell Syndicate. WNU Features. - "My father-in-law is a fine old man, but so cZose that a iighl left burning faucet left running will give him a chance to scold for hours. I use too ml soap in the baby's bath; I leave good gravy and potatoes on my plate." ENDURING CRIT1CISM Sometimes little nagging an. I noyances loom like gravehari I ships. It depends a lot on the viewpoint. Helen, for instance can scarcely bear her iot. Sie I is a soldier's wife with tin I small children. They are Ik j I ing with his parents inaljgil country house. The old folh pay all the bills, and do a good I j deal of . the work. Helen ki j I ortZy to take care of herself and the children, and to helf a little with the general houn- work. I But what wears on Eelen'i A nerves is the constant crititim ' I from her parents-in-law. Thejl I are thrifty to a fault, hari-A working, and old fashionei I Her father-in-law raises a fmi I about waste lights left burn ing, soap used in excess, jmi I thrown away and keeps Mf ! I ging for hours. Her motha- l in-law makes pointed Jujfefjl tions about rearing the ciil 'l dren, saving money for tiefu- ture, dressing plainly, and m I forth. This is day in and h I out. There is nowhere After I can go, as she is dependent! I having no means excepting fori governmentallotment. Iljl would be difficult for her ti l i get a job, or find an opl-'l i ment. She would have to ple; the babies in a nursery, too. I an, who helps endure the buncij anxiety she must feel for her if-1 f in practical hard work. I Now just" for fun, begin to It I ! yourself that you would be 't l j lucky" if you tried to malt i ! change. That it would be ham-1 for Lew, Sonia, little Lew and yc j j self. This isn't as superstitious !. fanciful as it sounds, forlcanM f you from my older experience t it would be unlucky; any rc course would certainly bring uFl i, you the evil eye the evil eye -I !' doubt, responsibility, discotfl f fatigue, bills, anxiety beyond be' I f ing. It would deeply hurt Lew's pi j ents, hurt Lew, hurt the chiKsl . and perhaps lessen his affection -I and confidence in you. . I fa Make yourself the angel ; j wartime household. Win the ;(. couple with a truly daughterlpl operation and affection. Turaf-I j lights, turn off faucets, serve 1 J self to only what food yon j-1 jj. we're all learning lessons"-! :f sort of niceness. And-just bet-l i, ourselves, take the children M ! a fortnight in the mountains j . summer, and make that litu H ; the time of a break in VJ: : attitidue. "Who so loseth bis -I shall find it" is just as true - as it was 2,000 years ago. I I By KATHLEEN NO RRIS THE trouble with Helen Johnson is that she won't accept the inevitable. She hates the conditions of her life, and yet she can't seem to find any way of escape. es-cape. So many women are in her position now that it seems worth while to quote her letter. let-ter. "I married at 20, six years ago," writes Helen. "Lewis, my husband, 1 two years older; he Is now with the army in France, but before the war he made a good living as a contractor con-tractor and builder. He worked with his father, and now that he Is away I live, with my two little children, with his father and mother. "Lew was happy that I should come to them, when he went away, almost a year ago. The lease on our apartment had expired, we could find no other place, and this roomy country house seemed ideal. Domestic Domes-tic help simply doesn't exist in this neighborhood. I was worn out when we came here, and expected a rest. "Instead, nothing is right. My father-in-law is a fine old man. but so close that a light left burning or a faucet left running will give him a chance to scold for hours. I use too much soap in the baby's bath; I leave good gravy and potato on my plate; I think my children have to have fresh clothes every day. What Way Out? "As for my mother-in-law; she works all day, cooking, cleaning, gardening. She adores the children, loves to have them with her, but her attitude toward me is quietly critical. Wouldn't I rather buy another an-other bond for Lewis Jr. than buy a dress? What are my plans when Lew comes home? Isn't it better for little people not to talk at all at meals? This means Sonia, for little Lew doesn't talk yet. "I drive myself almost crazy all day trying to think of a way out, and lie awake at night planning it. But it seems impossible. Living space is at a premium. It would mean that I get a job, and what of my children? Here I have no expenses ex-penses whatsoever, my husband's parents even buying the children's clothes and paying doctor's bills. Do you suppose there is a nursery, in the city, where I could put the baby, If I tried to keep Sonia with me?" It is a pity, Helen, that a ministering minis-tering angel can't appear to you, and say to you that your destiny is to remain where you are, and that dire misfortune and evil days will follow upon your being anywhere-else. anywhere-else. Such a visitation would impress you, you would awaken from a dream, face facts, settle down into the life you are living, and find In it not only content and usefulness, but a deeper happiness than you have ever known. Your husband Is enduring far harder conditions than you are, and he has no way of escape. Millions of other men and women in the world are facing situations that they thought, a few years ago, utterly Insufferable. Change Would Harm All. No conditions remain insufferable, the minute we decide to accept them, make the best of them, improve im-prove upon them. Your husband's people have made you welcome; they pay your bills; they love your children. That the old man is thrifty Is perhaps a good training for you-these you-these aren't the days to waste soap', waste gravy and potato, waste effort washing and Ironing. As for your mother-in-law, she sounds like a fine and useful and generous wom- "She is Quietly critical . . . |
