St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1894-12-22
TO LloHTsN THE euRDEN.

TO LlGhTEN THE BURDEN.
Ielpful Hints for Those who Have Aged
Ncmbers In Their Homes.
The very kindness of children and
friends often makes the life Of the aged
member of the household q wearisome
burden. In their anxiety to shield the
father or mother from care and
physical exertion they take away
every source of interest and enjoy yment-
Physicians tell us that muscles which
are not used become atrophied, and
hence we can readily understand that
physical and mental powers may age
more quickly through idleness than
exertion. Many housewives urge their
mothers to give the housekeeping into
their hands, believing that in 50 doing
they are performing q most filial ac-
ton.
1t is mistaken kindness very often.
Granted that q woman is in reasonably
good health it is better for her to have
definite and varied duties to the very
close Of her life, no matter how long
that life may be. Tho wise daughter
will try and tighten and perhaps share
these duties, instead of forcing a nat
urally energetic woman to feel her
self q useless factor in the home.
There lies the sting of much Of the un-
happiness of old people; the feeling
that they are no longer essential to
others. Then, too. they do not want
to surrender the administrative facul-
ty It hurts them to feel so entirely
cut of from their kind. For this rea-
son it is wise, when it is possible, for
the housewife to encourage the aged
father or mother to do some, if not all,
of the marketing for the family. The
exercise in the open air and the meeting
with tradesmen and discussion of ways
and means will console, though in q
small and homely way, the man who
mourns for the active days of business
life. The mother, too, will feel as If
her hand were still ON the helm when
she gives her daily orders. The keep
ing of the family accounts, when possi-
bic, should be relegated to the aged
members of the household for the same
reason.
1t is popular fiction to suppose that
because body is old the soul that lies
in it must necessarily be old in its feel
ings and desires. Very often we hear
it said that old people do not care for
society. The doctor and the clergy
man are regarded as the only callers
really essential to their well-being.
Yet these very same old people may
long for the fiesh-pots of Egypt more
earnestly than their granddaughter. of
sixteen. They are not especially
attracted by people of their own
age, who remind them too wildly
of the lapse of time and the in
firmities Of the body. They very often
prefer the light Of bright young faces
and the stir and hustle of active social
life. They rebel against the implica-
tion that they have done with all the
vanities and delights of the world. It
is true kindness, therefore, not to set
them aside in some quiet room. remote
from the family life, furnished. per
haps, in q staid, old-fashioned way with
the portraits Of the dead covering the
sober wallis Such . room has IN ac-
tual repulsion for the little children,
who naturally grow to feel that the
quiet figures sitting in it are not of
their world. The whole unconscious
attitude Of. the household is one of ex-
pectation that very soon those places
must be left vacant, and often the poor
old people fall into line, and through
very inertia to what is expected of
them. They are actually buried alive
long before they die.
Love combined with wisdom will
raise no such barriers around the old,
but will keep them in the very heart Of
the family life. The friends of the
younger generation will be made their
friends, and it will not he taken for
granted that because grandmother's
hair is white she can no longer enjoy q
frolic. In this separation the young
suffer quite as much as the old, for it
often happens that the grandmother is
better qualified to be the confidante of
the young schoolgirl than the busy,
worried mother. The grandfather, too,
be the best kind of an interpreter be-
tween father and SON. For this reason
the old people to help the
children in their studies. Never mind
if the school books are very different
from the ones in use two generations
ago. This very fact will do much to
put the grandparents in touch with the
times and keep their mental faculties
alert.
Fancy generally paints an old lady
with knitting work in her hands. She
is also expected to sew on buttons,
darn stockings and do the very work
which naturally reduces every thought
to monOtony. No one ever thinks of
asking her to make some bright fancy
work or inquiries whether she would
like to learn some new embroidery
even able to leave her room. let some
of the household tasks be brought to
her beside the family mending. She
can prepare fruit for cakes and pies,
shell peas and pare vegetables, sitting
in her chair, and still be of great serv-
ice in the home.
1t is more difficult to find occupation
for old men than for old women.
There are SO few things about house
that they can do, yet in addition to
those have mentioned they can often
attend to much of the family
The receiving of
letters from different relations and
the representing of their own particu-
lar branch Of the family in reply will
furnish them with many objects of
thought and employ many lonely
hours. When there is . garden, no
matter how small, the grandfather
should feel that it is his own especial
province. Catalogues of seeds and
bulbs, and the ordering and care Of
plants soon become Of absorbing inter
est. The boys working under his di-
rection can spare his physical strength
while their obedience and subordina-
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