It's Up to the Women by Eleanor Roosevelt

Author:Eleanor Roosevelt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 2017-04-10T16:00:00+00:00

X

GRANDMOTHERS

ONE of my correspondents the other day asked me what I really thought the position of grandmothers was to-day. In her letter she said that she had read all there was to say on the subject of not interfering with your children when they were grown, and on letting them shoulder their own responsibilities, and on having plenty of interests which you could turn to so as not to be a burden on children, and so that even if they had to help you financially, at least they should not feel that they had to provide you with constant companionship and entertainment. She still felt, however, that it might be nice for grandchildren to know occasionally where they could find their grandmother.

This awakened a chord of sympathy in my own breast, for I sometimes think that as we grow older we should try to be restful. One of the most delightful persons I ever knew was a woman who probably meant more to many people than most of us do in this world and who was tied to her chair in a small New England village. She suffered a great deal and she had certain physical handicaps which would make most of us hermits, unable to think of anything but our own afflictions and disabilities and quite uninterested in the world at large. She was different; she knew everything that was happening; she had as keen a mind and as good judgment as any one I have ever known. Young and old flocked to her for her advice and stimulation; people would travel hours for an hour of her company.

One left her presence with the feeling of having been with a really great personality and in the presence of the kind of courage which makes one aspire to be courageous no matter what one’s own difficulties or trials may be.

I think too many of us forget that as we grow older it is not so important what we do, because our place in the world is somewhat different from what it was when we were young. Then we were still carrying the burden of the work of the world. As we grow older it is much more important that we be something which furnishes youth with stimulation and courage and, occasionally, when youth is a little too hotheaded, with a word of restraint, though I do not favor much restraint.

I would always be with the mother who said she discovered that she was always saying “no” to her children, so one day she turned around and instead of saying “Johnnie, do not eat with your fingers,” she said, “Johnnie, do eat with your spoon.” I would far rather, instead of saying, “Reuben, do not jump off the cliff,” say, “Reuben, why not try to get down it with a rope?”

So I think it is well for grandmothers to create an atmosphere of repose at least for part of the time. If they are well and strong and have the opportunity

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.