A ROOM OF OUR OWN

...the question remains, as I have often remarked before...

...I told Bob of my deep gratification in the way he has met his life thus far...

...HOW are we taking'it...

...But time marches inexorably on, and we find that we do "live through" what life metes out to us...

...I was determined to make the furlough a success for Bob, and as my friend above commented, I would never have been able to survive in even approximately the manner to which I aspire if I couldn't laugh at myself,-even my own pain...

...Our best family visiting, as is too often the case, came at unexpected moments, over the dishes or in the late mornings when Bob strolled down stairs in his pajamas while I was at work in the kitchen...

...I sat in the car one sunny morning waiting while 3 of them, equipped with cameras, roamed the woods, and we are eagerly waiting to see what luck Bob had on the snapshots he took doubled up in a cave watching the nest of a horned owl...

...We can still, to degrees we know not of, call upon our inner resources to contribute to the quality of the life we lead...

...I asked Judy if she could manage to become a little less charming by midnight, and she laughed gleefully: "I told them they could come in but that they would have to go by midnight...

...And I wish to report that except for a couple of personal blitzkriegs I did fairly well in keeping the home atmosphere relaxed, comfortable, and happy...

...They chortled and giggled, they danced, they lolled in the sun and then practiced standing on their hands to "perfect arm development...

...I tried to explain the mother's position at such a time: that intellectually I appreciate that my job with him is done...

...A Room Of Our Own By Isabel B. La Follette WELL, I'm glad you can laugh at something," commented a friend as I regaled her with the more humorous aspects of our 18-year-old son's recent furlough before reporting to an Embarkation Center en route to the Pacific...

...We had a little Sunday afternoon reception for Bob's friends and parents of some of those who are gone, and asked them to drop in between 4 and 6. At 2 on the dot one lad came steaming in from washing his employer's car, and on his heels another burst in the door with his "good clothes" in hand because his job of waiting on table delayed his arrival...

...Arrival And Departure Bob's sense of humor was keener than ever, and we rolled and rocked over his take-offs of camp life, and leaped to attention at his commands to "get on the ball," or his admonition, especially when I got too steamed up, to '"Take 10...

...that at 12 you drop a shoe, and at 5 after you begin to thump...

...Each of us in our daily life these days finds himself leaping from one emotional peak to another...

...I made batches of mayonnaise, chocolate cakes, provided cases of soft drinks and quantities of ice cream, not to mention unlimited quantities of Bob's two main requests, "plenty of milk and of mashed potato...

...Judy had to eat early each night for a week to get to play practice at high school, while 9-year-old Sherry was busy increasing her prestige among her fellows by constantly bringing home her schoolmates to exhibit her soldier brother and his muscle, until finally I had to put my foot down at having any more young fry for meals until after Bob left...

...Realizing that for all his devotion to his family and home that the experiences of the past months have turned him from a boy into a young man...

...Having suffered with him, by remote control, the trials of Basic Training, the next step was that furlough before going overseas...

...At such sessions we debated the problems of the world and our own places in it, and compared the difficult or amusing experiences of the months he had been gone and of what lies ahead...

...and tried to point out to him the challenges, the choices that will always lie about him wherever he finds himself...

...For those of us who refuse to "take it lying down...

...Home For A Furlough I have just survived one of those emotional ordeals, as many of you will appreciate, during our son Bob Ill's furlough before leaving for combat duty...

...While I stayed on the provision assembly line, the house fairly rocked with the high spirits of young people...

...We observe ourselves enduring experiences that once we thought we "never could stand...

...And did they raise Cain with Bob who remarked, "Oh, was it supposed to be 4 o'clock...

...And you should have heard Bob exclaim over an irate letter from one of our readers who chided me that "the grandson of Robert M. La Follette (and incidentally your son)" was going forth to war...

...Incidentally, Robert M. La Follette never was a pacifist...

...From now on I can write letters, send packages, and advise when requested, and "keep the home fires burning" for whenever he may be able or care to return, but essentially he is "on his own" from now on...

...I guess I did say 2." So the days were gone before we knew it, and now, as I wrote Bob and his father, instead of lying awake nights waiting for a boy to come in, I lie awake waiting for boys to go home...

...The latter expression comes from the commanding officer's command to take 10 minutes rest when they were exhausted on marches, and I intend to use it on myself as needed...

...Of course," I smiled ruefully and I fear a bit tearfully, "that is easier said than done, but I at least try to get my emotions to follow my reason...

...Then they spent hours in the surrounding countryside searching their favorite haunts for hawks' nests...

...If I had known, for instance, that Phil would have been gone from home, time and again risking his life, for over a period of 3 years, and that on top of that our son Bob would be pulled into the greatest tragedy of history, I often doubt if I could have kept my equilibrium...

...While hectic, I appreciated the benefit of nature's insistence in each human being that his or her own life must go on no matter what...

...As always, however, while I was concentrating on Bob's furlough, the girls refused to be deflected from their place in the sun...