Show kathleen norris says picnics at home bell syndicate features 7 1 k j 11 J 0 k or h since then her mother inlaw will agree to anything eve ry thing that sh suggests to lighten an almost unbearable load by KATHLEEN NORRIS is f Y CHILDREN are M six four and less JL V JL than one years of age writes margaret fulton from philadel philadelphia hia we have a nine room house ouse on a large lot on the outskirts of town we have big trees and big porches which seem to me today to say nothing but the one word sweeping my husband works hard is paid 65 a week we love each other and we adore bill bruce and finn what I 1 am asking you is is how can I 1 take care of them all and the house and the meals and the marketing and keep myself always good natured sweet and fr fresh esh little bill is in school five blocks away he cant be permitted to cross two arterial streets alone V ive ve got bruce in quarantine because she was exposed to whooping cough weve all had flu including william senior but light cases with no help no didy wash no grainy granny or aunt to come in and relieve me I 1 am tired untidy hurried all the time I 1 should do mending at night perhaps but in the evenings I 1 am so sleepy and exhausted I 1 go to bed right after dinner vin im no company for my husband ive no time for prettying myself or fixing up my wardrobe getting beds made getting food on the table comforting sobbing babies making finns formula spooning prunes into him telephoning the market there simply any end to it father gets tired too Villi william arn gets nervous and critical poor man he is often as tired as I 1 am we look at our friends who have no ch children and wonder whether we were tools fools to involve ourselves in these infinitely worrisome if infinitely precious responsibilities what am I 1 doing or not doing that makes all this so BO hard im not a natural cook but I 1 can follow rules and I 1 try not to fuss and make mak e unnecessary work for myself other women must have written you of this problem what did you say to them my dear margaret I 1 have said to hundreds of them what I 1 say to you that it cant be done not in these days of war not under these conditions no woman can manage three babies a large house cooking beds dusting marketing serving meals dealing with nursery illnesses washing no matter how strong and capable she is in the old days there would have been a grandmother and aunts to say nothing of a good servant or two to help today she has to fight on alone do the best you can margaret ind and keep first things first keep the children in tough dark overalls serve erve most of their meals in send sand and mug fashion have your own meals entirely in the kitchen dont mourn niceness and daintiness and the way mother bad things there is nothing nice and dainty about war and these are war times live as if you were in one of the war torn countries yourself anxious only to keep your family together warm and housed and fed nothing more your husband it if he is a reason bibly intelligent man most husbands arent but perhaps yours ls aswill wll quickly realize the basic importance dt what you are doing raising children in these times he will see when you point it out to him that nothing else matters except that we oil all GET THROUGH these days to better times not what you wear not dust and disorder are important not flowers on the table and fresh little garments on the chi children 1 dren when dad gets home food shelter warm beds baths and love love love all the way these are what matter and nd these whittled down to their I 1 essentials will keep you busy enough eliminate finishing touches cut out all fancy touches all k 11 show ill beautifying beautify inz tor for the duration I 1 real streamline YOUR HOUSEHOLD DURING WARTIME mothers cannot expect to run their households as smoothly as in the prewar days when capable help was easily obtainable tai particularly where there are several children is it t necessary to keep to the vital necessities food shelter and warmth this is kathleen norris advice to a woman with three small children a husband and a nine room house to take care of the burden of trying to run this menage on a prewar standard is running her ragged these are not normal times and it is impossible to live completely normally Y the woman is advised to live as though she and her ter family were in one of the lite war torn countries and to consider only the basic requirements of existence ize that you and your husband are carrying on the most important busi ness in the world and weather these bad years like a ship facing a storm find once you take this atti tude that imaginary duties and ob ligat libations ions drop from you like autumn leaves and that every day finds you discarding some onerous task thal thai youve always imagined HAD to be done several young mothers in my neighborhood have simply moved downstairs for the winter and are not attempting to keep the upper rooms warm and clean the chil drens beds are in the sitting room mother and dad in the study the dining room fireplace has become the center of the house and meals arie are in the kitchen A small stove keeps the bathroom upstairs warm when it is needed just making the change one mother told me had awakened her husband to the des need accepted it in a sort of picnic spirit and she says that now he likes it this woman said her mother in law disapproved of this innovation but she left her mother in law in c harge charge one day of the twins and the baby while she rushed off to do some shopping she says the older woman was a wreck when she returned six hours later the house a shambles the children dirty and roaring dinner not even started and that since then her mother in law w will III agree to anything everything that she suggests to lighten an almost unbearable load |