A ROOM OF OUR OWN

...What then...

...We had fun during this phase of our experience, but we wanted a family, and I did not feel adequate to both jobs...

...You have to be on the spot when the thousand and one little emergencies arise...

...In rebuttle the argument will be made, of course, that this is a temporary emergency and that "some day" we will be back on a smooth-geared specialized economy...

...Most family incomes are pretty well budgeted, the man having little more leeway than the woman over and above the customary expenses...

...It is obvious that most women have given the matter considerable thought and have arrived at varying attitudes, but I find the majority agreed on the following: even in normal times and with labor-saving devices, no home, most especially with children, operates itself...

...Marriage is always a risk (what isn't...

...Such a home can't be bought with the pay-checi of an absent mother...

...and a man and woman have the right to work out such mutual arrangements as seem to suit them best...

...Or am I wrong...

...Most couples accept this instinctively, and I am always impressed at the care, effort, and sacrifice evidenced in most cases...

...A home is very individual and personal, reflecting the interests and values of its participants...

...And this cooperative venture can develop a wonderful give and take...

...Add to this the near break-down of city services such as dry-cleaning, repairing of all sorts, extra help, and so on, the home has taken over (or should we say "taken back") more of the details of living than in many years...

...She doesn't have to unless she wants to, does she...

...Yet this woman could not create the atmosphere described without being happy in her work...

...I tried it the first two years we were married, working from 8:30 until five, picking up the groceries, taking them home and getting a late dinner, doing the dishes and odds and ends of housework in the evening...

...It may not appear "romantic" to the career woman, but its rewards to the individual and the community are beyond price...

...A young married woman made the ancient aggrieved statement the other day, "The woman not only has to do her outside job, but when she comes home she has to do a second job...

...I noted recently that at a British postwar planning meeting-an Englishwoman wanted a plank for a weekly check for the housewife...

...Then there are six younger brother and sisters, just like steps, as lively and cuts as can be...

...The growth of parent-teacher organizations and like groups stems from a creative desire for wider horizons for their children and seems to meet a very normal need...

...Mustn't put ideas in his head...

...But being human, few of us are "satisfied," and the more time and energy we have, the more natural to cast about for further forms of expression and satisfaction...

...Saturday afternoon were devoted to cleaning and Sunday forenoon to cooking and baking against the coming week...

...Recently one sent word that she could not get there for lunch but would join us later...

...I've been so busy with the utility purchase fight and my lodge work that Fred remarked this morning, 'Honey, I'm getting a little tired of chop suey.'" Another woman spoke up, "I told Chuck we wouldn't stop to pick you up today, but I won't tell him why...

...It is a challenging fact that the increase in juvenile delinquency goes hand in hand with working mothers...

...AH these suggestions are worth thinking over, even if the effect is but-to educate more men and women on the cooperative nature of the family income...

...Personal relations, be it husband, children, or friends, take time, thought, and effort...

...I have an exceptionally wide acquaintance among people in varying income brackets, but in the vast majority of cases there is a joint agreement on the apportioning of the family income as to education, home, clothing, entertainment, car, and so on...

...Have To Be On The Spot When they assume the responsibility of children, however, I am old-fashioned enough to feel that their own preferences have to be subordinated to the welfare of their young...

...Then they have a marvelous Irish setter—boy, is he a beauty...

...It is an adjustment to do without the pay-check one was used to having...

...I know I've never been more thankful that I can not only cook and sew but am a fair electrician, carpenter, and general handy-man, since it is almost impossible to get this kind of help...

...A Room Of Our Own By Isabel B. La Follette 1AM asked to make a plea for the "Forgotten Woman"—the housewife—forgotten apparently except by the far-away men who still look upon home as the center of their lives...

...I had to get Fred a real good dinner...

...The more articulate women are writing articles, giving out interviews, speaking before forums and clubs on the postwar problems of working women...

...Yet unfortunately we cannot have our cake and eat it too...

...The house was shabby and didn't look as though they were very interested in that part of it, but they have a wonderful kitchen and the most beautiful yard...

...I missed mine when it stopped, but I knew I wanted other things more...

...Since this subjeet is close to me, I have launched the question into many groups of women in the past months, and is it ever a bomb-shell...

...In considering the question of outside work for women I cannot escape the conviction that children should be a determining factor...

...These women raised families on modest incomes and now that the children-are gone they are expressing themselves in another form...

...I am talking here, of course, of families where the man's income meets their needs (not that we couldn't all use more...

...And just like the manufacturer, the university professor, the government worker, laborer, and the farmer, there is concern among these newly-established women as how best to perpetuate their "gains...

...The general tenor of their positit.ii is that women will no longer be "satisfied" with housework, that there's nothing to it nowadays what with the many extra-home services and the labor-saving devices that leave the housewife with time on her hands...

...Isn't it interesting to see what other people like...

...These women illustrate Belle Case La Follette's point that it isn't the money itself that is important, that what we are after is a sense of accomplishment, of doing something worth while...

...As a matter of fact the woman assumes most of the "administrative" responsibility in these fields...

...We can let the housework slide, we can even eat out of cans for a while, but one cannot keep in touch with growing children by a weekly check-up...

...Rewards Are Beyond Price But some of those I read and listen to do not seem to me to appreciate that a home is not to be confused with a shelter...

...And even a pair of love-birds...

...I was delighted with the observation of one of the children after visiting a school-mate's home: "It was the most interesting home, mother...

...I cruelly retorted, "So what...

...Always A Risk In wartime, with rationing, fat, paper, and tin salvage, canning, and sewing, and the thousand and one extra duties saddled on the housewife, she cannot keep up with the demands even if she works 18 hours a day...

...Fortunately I like it, but it all takes time...

...The Government pushes the WAVES, WAGS, SPARS, and other services, as well as encouraging women in war work and other opportunities opened up by wartime activity and lack of men...

...When she arrived she said, "You'll never guess why I had to stay home...

...It isn't fair...

...We local Progressive women meet once a month for lunch and political visiting...