New Life in Hardwater
This is post 9 of Section II. To begin at the beginning, go here. Section II begins here.
All in all it was with relief that Gregory and Chloe began a new life in Hardwater, Georgia. Gregory was a natural at his new job, which was unchallenging, if uninteresting, and they found good daycare, so Chloe could pursue her doctorate in English at nearby North Central Georgia, even after the baby was born.
Indeed it was not until after the baby came that there were problems. It was not money. In addition to his job, Gregory occasionally taught an evening class in technical writing at the university. And with student labor, even the upkeep on their Victorian house was affordable.
No, it was a great, unhappy combination of things. First, Gregory knew that Chloe would not like to be one of those reactionary women like his mother, who put all of her own talents on hold and devoted herself to spoiling and domineering over her sons. Thank goodness liberated young women could now put all that in its proper place and contribute more pleasantly and productively to their families in the workplace and the bedroom.
Chloe, on the other hand, was surprised to find that she was intensely attached to her baby girl, whom they named Elizabeth, after Gregory’s mother and the great Renaissance English queen. Chloe was deeply impressed with the miracles of Elizabeth’s eating, sleeping and excreting, as well as the calm trust the infant early on displayed toward her mother, and the awesome responsibility that she, Chloe, had assumed. It was at this period that Chloe returned to her collegiate preoccupation with self-help literature. She began innocently enough, with parenting manuals, telling herself she could stop just as soon as she was sure she knew enough to be a good mom. But she soon learned from a number of sources that the father and the family’s situation were crucial to the child’s wellbeing, and this led her to question both her marriage and her career.
Continue
All in all it was with relief that Gregory and Chloe began a new life in Hardwater, Georgia. Gregory was a natural at his new job, which was unchallenging, if uninteresting, and they found good daycare, so Chloe could pursue her doctorate in English at nearby North Central Georgia, even after the baby was born.
Indeed it was not until after the baby came that there were problems. It was not money. In addition to his job, Gregory occasionally taught an evening class in technical writing at the university. And with student labor, even the upkeep on their Victorian house was affordable.
No, it was a great, unhappy combination of things. First, Gregory knew that Chloe would not like to be one of those reactionary women like his mother, who put all of her own talents on hold and devoted herself to spoiling and domineering over her sons. Thank goodness liberated young women could now put all that in its proper place and contribute more pleasantly and productively to their families in the workplace and the bedroom.
Chloe, on the other hand, was surprised to find that she was intensely attached to her baby girl, whom they named Elizabeth, after Gregory’s mother and the great Renaissance English queen. Chloe was deeply impressed with the miracles of Elizabeth’s eating, sleeping and excreting, as well as the calm trust the infant early on displayed toward her mother, and the awesome responsibility that she, Chloe, had assumed. It was at this period that Chloe returned to her collegiate preoccupation with self-help literature. She began innocently enough, with parenting manuals, telling herself she could stop just as soon as she was sure she knew enough to be a good mom. But she soon learned from a number of sources that the father and the family’s situation were crucial to the child’s wellbeing, and this led her to question both her marriage and her career.
Continue
posted by Hobbes at 7:51 PM
3 Comments:
Uh-oh. It always starts with reading.
Guess you have to be careful of your reading diet; even Rush Limbaugh writes books. But she does seem to be sincere because even when she was pregnant she would sit on the fire escape to avoid the smoke. I'm just not convinced about mom yet. At this point, she seems off the wall. But maybe when we learn more ...
Doug, beat me to the punch, but I'll pretend I didn't see you.
It's all downhill from the parenting manuals.
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