"BLACK MONDAY."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18629, 9 February 1924, Page 6 (Supplement)

"BLACK MONDAY."

sx wnxs. I Tie second week in February, the end of the joyous holidays, and instead, the bliolt shadows of school and lessons looming ahead! Already battered and toilworn lesson books are being reluctantly : dragged forth from the dark cupboards, where their owners joyously flung them seven or eight weekti ago, and " dad " is being assiduously sounded with regard to the important question of a new school bag—"this old thing's so jolly shabby now!" Straw hats are being carefully examined to see whether or not they are likely to yield up their griminess if a little gentle persuasion, in the shape of " salta of lemon," or some other timeworn remedy, is brought to bear upon them. School caps and badges are being gradually retrieved from their hiding rlaces, where they are probably discovered only after long and agitated search. Speculation is rife concerning the new classes which will this year be formed, tho new places, new books, new lessons, new "subjects," which freshly-acquired dignities will involve, and interest in school affairs slowly revives in the thrill of wondering how many new pupils there *ili be and what' the new master will be like. And. amid all this tumult of reawakened interests and excited speculations, already the holidays seem little more than jewelled memories. And only now and then do the eager voung minds turn wistxuUv back in thought to the dear remembered joys which already seem so far away— the bathes and rides and picnics, the fishing excursions and climbing expeditions, the open-air meals and the banquets " in the orchard, the long golden afternoons scrambling joyously round the rocks, or exploring "cobwebby., caves, or lying in blissful idleness on a warm sandy beach, or nailing lazily over the E-:nlit waters of the harbour in a yacht. Tragic day indeed which marks the end of such joys for the present! 'Black Monday" indeed—for tho children! But what of the mothers? It is truly an ill wind that blows nobody any good, *nd there is probably hardly a mother in Auckland but will breathe a hear Melt, if secret, sigh of relief when •Black Monday A sees her particular. little tribe trooping off once more to that benevolent institution which undertakes to direct their ingenious minds and fertile imaginations and inexhaustible energies into safe and useful channels for another two or three months at least. For to the majority of mothers the children's holidays usually mean the most strenuous period in all their busy year. They mean, moreover, something very different to the fathers from that which they mean to the mothers. To the average father, enjoying his vacation with his children, the holidays realKmean the rejuvenation of his own youth. Usually ■till something of a boy at heart, in spite of his business cares and family responsibilities, he becomes in very truth a boy again with his sons. They suddenly appeal to him, not so much in the light of rash, impetuous blundering youth depending on him for guidance and experience, as"'in the liffht of inTlv friends and comrades. They make him feel young, adventurous, irresponsible. He has, at. last, something which he rarely gets during school-terman opportunity to really get to know something of the minds and hearts, the tastes and points of view, of these children of his, He accompanies them on all their expeditions." is a* keen as they to: explore caves -or climb mountains, to dabble in amateur carpentry or to " mess about "with a paint brush. He has a secret pride in tho knowledge that he can still swim a longer distance than his son, , still hold his own quite comfortably at cricket or running, still '* show the youngsters a few things." And if he has an uneasy susTiicion that \he 's , occasionally being betrayed into a levity of spirit and a frivolity of bearing which are not in strict accordance with his years or his dignity, and which will, moreover, make it difficult to assume the role of stern parent again, he swiftly consoles himself with the thought that, after all, the children like it, and '* they can only be young once.' But to the mother, alas! the children's holidays too often spell a very different tale. She it is who has the full benefit of the inconveni'mces- arid .•drawbacks and deficiencies of the holiday cottage that to the rest of the fanrilv is merely a delightlolly " rambling, fanny old house" In all probability she has no domestic help there, and none of the modern conveniences and labour-saving devices to which she Is acenstotted in her own home. The stove will not cook except under violent compulsion •or by • dint of- the; most artful persuasion. The water has to be carried From a $i?t*pace and j the supply fetched for 4ier tir-th* morning; is continually giving jaui just whan, there is no one at hand to «st more. ( are ' always arisingj necessitating a visit >$> the one far-distant store, and very often when it is time to, call for the milk the rest of the family have not returned from a lengthy excursion. .: Facilities for washing clothes are of the roost,primitive type Fresh food is a constant source of worry because there is no cool and airy safe fa which to keen it adequately protected from flies and insects. As for expeditions, the mother has invariably to forego the longest and most interesting because she has to prepare a meal or look after the smaller children, who cannot go so far. *\ ' :% <

No, the idea that a holiday . cottage at the seaside or in the country is going to provide relaxation for a map's wife as well j>s for himself and his family is very largely pure fallacya masculine delnsion which needs to be corrected and painted in its true colours. On the contrary, every man who can afford or arrange to do so should at the conclusion of the children's holidays take or send his wife away to some spots-■ where, she can really find rest and relaxation, fresh interest and new enthusiasms, the restoration of her physical and nervous "-. energy and a complete rejuvenation of mind and body.