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Show n Kathleen Norris Says: Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously Bell Syndicate. WNU Teaturet. "Personal appeals, tears, hurt feelings, reffrences to your excellencies as a wifeall these don't count. But an attitude of unselfish, cheerful usefulness, of interest in tilings that you like, of independent amusements and occupations, have won many m wandering spouse hack to the domestic path." By KATHLEEN NORRIS DON'T take yourself too seriously. It's a very common fault. It wrecks many lives. It's another an-other name for all the detestable detest-able things that come under the heading of pride; arrogance, arro-gance, sensitiveness, suspicion, suspi-cion, jealousy yes, everyone of them springs from taking oneself too seriously. I know women and you do, too, who won't let any trifle pass if it reflects re-flects upon their pride. Sally Brown is one. She will waste half of a beautiful morning in telephone conversation something like this: "Mary? This is Sally. Darling, I know you're busy. But I had to call you because of that ridiculous thing Eleanor quoted me as saying yesterday. I thought you'd instantly instant-ly think I meant your Joan when I said it was ridiculous for girls to wear the bathing suits they do when all I meant was girls in general gen-eral you know how I adore Joanie 99 Mary ought to hang up instantly, for Sally will keep this up for 20 minutes, but Mary is too polite, and so valuable time in her morning, as well as Sally's, are wasted. The 'Know-It-All Then there's Emily, who thinks she knows the pronunciation of every ev-ery word in our language and several sev-eral other languages, and bores her friends to extinction by interrupting conversations with: "Molly, I want you to tell Jack Kent that I was absolutely right about the pronunciation of 'sacrilegious' 'sacri-legious' the other night. Remember how mad he got? Well, I looked it up " Again, there's Olive Cutter who is always afraid you'll think that the Cutters who run the general store are relations. She tells you over and over just where they came from and where her ancestors came from two entirely different parts of America. It is Olive too, who hasn't spoken to her husband's Joyous big hospitable family for years because of something one of them said. It seems that the Cutters Cut-ters and the Hardistys Olive was a Ilardisty never forget and never forgive. But worst of all, and most expensive ex-pensive of all to family peace, are the women who take wifehood too seriously. Hundreds of them destroy their own lives, and the lives of all those connected with them, by a deep-rooted feeling that everything every-thing that concerns Herbert is theirs, not to be joked about, not to be touched by any other woman. Suth a wife resents the Eimplest compliment Herbert may pay Mrs. Watson, in the office. If he says Mrs. Watson is an accurate stenographer, stenog-rapher, his wife counters with a hurt "She doesn't wear her clothes with any style at alll" If he reports at dinner time that he has asked Miller and his wife to dinner, Pauline says quickly, "I like that, asking guests without any reference to poor litUe me, who will have to get up the dinner! " Later j she may be lovely about it. but Her- infill "An nititudo ni i ' l-tl usefulness. ..." bert won't forget his first unpleasant reaction to her vanity. Personal Reaction. "Mrs. Miller had a pretty dress on," Herbert may be fool enough to say later. "My dear, if I spent the money she does on clothes, I could wear gowns like that," Pauline Paul-ine instantly returns. Put yourself through a little cross-examination.- Ask yourself if your first remark, no matter what j subject is mentioned, is about ! yourself. Of course we all have to talk about ourselves a lot, it wouldn't be human to be otherwise. other-wise. But is your very first remark always about yourself, and is it I often made in a lightly critical, highly sensitive tone? If the answer is yes, you're a bad wife. Even if the worst Is true, if Herbert Her-bert really is in love with the smart young grass-widow who handles real estate problems for the office even if he's all brightened up by a middle-aged love affair still, you've nothing personal to say. Personal appeals, tears, hurt feelings, feel-ings, references to your excellencies as a wife all these don't count. But an attitude of unselfish, cheerful cheer-ful usefulness, of interest in things that you like, of independent amusements and occupations, have I won many a wandering spouse back to the domestic path. Don't take j even your husband's love affairs too seriously. |