Treasures from Grandma's Attic by Arleta Richardson

anyone could keep anything from us. I guess I was wrong.”
    “Don’t worry,” I told her. “You probably never will be again. But at least now you know how the rest of us mortals feel.”
    Sarah Jane made a face at me, and we ran off to congratulate our teacher.

9
    Really Responsible
    “Ma, why didn’t you have two more daughters instead of sons?”
    We were canning vegetables, and I was in charge of boiling the jars. Ma stirred the tomatoes before she answered. “I didn’t have much choice about that,” she told me. “I’m thankful to have one daughter. Sons are pretty nice to have too.”
    “I can’t think what for,” I retorted. “Why don’t they have to stand over a hot stove once in a while?”
    “For the same reason you don’t spend the day in the field with Pa or milk the cows night and morning. It’s called a division of labor.”
    “Not a very fair division if you ask me,” I grumbled. “I’d rather be outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.”
    “All right. I’ll watch the jars and you go get some peas and lettuce from the garden,” Ma offered. “It’s time to start dinner.”
    “That’s not what I had in mind.”
    “I know,” Ma replied dryly. “What you had in mind was sitting on the fence, gazing out across the field. But that doesn’t run a farm.”
    While I washed the lettuce at the pump and shelled the peas, I dreamed about what I might be doing in five years. My dreams definitely didn’t include a farm.
    “I think I’d like to go far, far away,” I announced to Ma as I carried the pans into the kitchen.
    “You’ve already been far, far away,” she said. “You should be able to separate the pods from the peas better than this.”
    “I was thinking of my future,” I told her.
    “If your future is anything like your present, you’re going to need a caretaker,” Ma retorted. “I wish you’d learn to keep your mind on your work. Can’t you see that it takes twice as long to do a job over again?”
    Later Sarah Jane dropped in, and we sat on the porch to talk.
    “I’ve been making plans for my future,” I said. “There aren’t a whole lot of things a girl can do, but I’d like to do all of them.”
    “How many lives are you planning on living?” Sarah Jane answered. “I’d be glad to think of one thing I’d like to do.”
    I looked at her thoughtfully. “Your biggest talent is telling me when I’m wrong,” I said. “There must be some way you could build that into a career.”
    I ducked as she swatted at me. “What are all these things you want to do?” she asked.
    “I could teach school, or maybe be a nurse, or—”
    “Or you could get married,” Sarah Jane finished for me. “I think your best choice is right there. You could be a farmer’s wife or minister’s wife or storekeeper’s wife or—”
    “No, no,” I interrupted her. “I’ve been somebody’s daughter this far in my life, and I don’t want to be somebody’s wife the rest of it. I want to be successful on my own. I’d like to have a really responsible place in life.”
    Sarah Jane shook her head. “You’re dreaming, Mabel. That would mean you’d be in charge of something. Can’t you imagine what a disaster that would be?”
    “Sarah Jane! I don’t discourage you when you tell me about your dreams!”
    “Of course not,” she replied. “I don’t want to try anything I’m not able to accomplish. What you have to do is suit your ambitions to your capabilities. When you get older, you’ll thank me for my advice.”
    “Just don’t stand on one foot until I do,” I retorted.
    But when I reported the conversation to Ma that evening, I admitted the truth of Sarah Jane’s remarks. “That’s the maddening thing about Sarah Jane—she’s usually right.”
    “You’ve improved somewhat over the years,” Ma told me. “But you have a ways to go. I appreciate every little bit of progress.”
    “I’ve never had any big responsibility to see if I could handle it, Ma.