Sentence:  The Szolds , like the Marches , enjoyed and loved living together , even in troubled times ; and , as in the March home , any young man who called on the Szolds found himself confronted with a phalanx of femininity which made it rather <WSD>difficult</WSD> to direct his particular attention to any one of them . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure