I stand here Ironing

The events in the story “I Stand Here Ironing” could easily happen in today’s society. When the story started it was said that the mother had Emily during the depression. Today we are not in a depression but we are in a recession with many parents having to go to work and leave their child in day care services. Emily’s father had even walked out on her and her mother which happens a lot in society today. A lot of families do not have money which would help to prevent diseases just like in the story. In the story Emily was described as being “delirious with the fever that comes before red measles” (285). If the parent has more than one child at the time when one child gets sick with a disease she may have to depart herself from her sick child to take care of the others. If she exposed herself and her other children to the disease they could get it too. The mother in the story was very young when she had Emily as are a lot of mothers now-a-days. Parenting is a learning experience and it takes a while to figure out what you are doing. Many parents look back at their first child’s childhood and think that things could have been different if they only knew then what they know now. An example of this in the story was when the mother at the end of the story stated “I was a young mother, I was a distracted mother” (299) and “My wisdom came too late” (289). As teachers of students will tell you that your children need interaction with their parents. They need bonding time with their parents to help them to bloom. If a parent doesn’t have time for this because of having several children and having to work a child may lack developmentally and think less of themselves. Children still to this day get jealous of a sibling who they think gets more attention than they do. It is something that I think will always happen. An example of why Emily was jealous of Susan her younger sister in the text was “Susan, golden, and curly-haired and chubby, quick and articulate and assured, everything in appearance and manner” (287). There will always be poverty, jealousy, and inexperience in the world.