There are times when needs must – well, they simply must. And I find myself in one of those times, when I have no other option but to put aside my wants and focus on needs: the need to earn bread to feed my child, to lift my husband’s spirits and reduce his cares, to find my own place in the world. This little column is my outpouring, then. I have little to offer the world: I am a wretched seamstress, and a dreadfully slow one. I cannot sing or play music (at least not well enough for anyone to wish to listen, although occasionally, when I am alone, I might sing – a bit). I am, I pride myself, a good and kind mother to my daughter, but I simply cannot abide anyone else’s little darlings, excepting, perhaps, my nephew.
That leaves my pen.
Of me, there is not much to tell. I have been well-educated, for a woman. I married young, to a good and kind man much my elder. Of him it is not fair to me to write – at least, not write much, and certainly nothing ill – but suffice that it is his poor health which now forces my hand. My daughter is both angel and devil in one, appropriately enough, as she is destined to be an only child. At her current age, I believe the devil has the upper hand.
I hope my little column to be of use, and I invite inquiries into which you might find interest.
Sincerely yours,
TRL