Mother and Son by Jane Calhoun

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. · Jan 2, 1913

Mother and Son

By Jane Calhoun

ALWAYS I was conscious that I must keep my boys close to me. I knew the time would come when my authority could not be enforced. Then only love could bend them to my wishes and judgment. So I sought for nearness and mutual understanding. From the first, they knew I would tell them the truth and never refuse to answer a direct inquiry. When they brought me the physiological questions which are bound to enter the life of the growing child, I answered them simply and clearly. I made nothing common or unclean. Life was pure and sacred; and if there was anything they did not comprehend, they turned to me for the clear truth, secure that they would get it.

It was not only seriousness we shared. Fun of all sorts, outings, jollifications for birthdays and holidays, vacations in the open, all these we had together, and I learned much of games and sports which had been a sealed book to me even in my youth. But a familiar story it had to become to me if my boys and I were to be truly "intimate friends."—Jane Calhoun, in Harper's Bazaar.