Beginning Together

Often young married people who are beginning together become discouraged because they

can’t begin where their parents “left off.” There are many things they want, and working and waiting

and going without aren’t always easy. Often they come from comfortable homes. Some have lived in comparative luxury. They have entertained their friends in surroundings that it has taken the family

much working and waiting to acquire, and they sometimes think it is a hardship to begin as their parents began. A girl who comes from a provident home could make it very miserable for the young man she marries if she were to expect him immediately to provide all the comforts and conveniences that she

has been accustomed to. She must remember that few people start with “everything” at once. And

those who do – those few who have a luxurious life handed to them – miss much of the genuine joy of working and planning together. Of course we expect each generation to improve upon the past, and fortunately it may not be necessary to go all the way back and begin where our parents began. But it

just isn’t reasonable for young people to expect to duplicate at once the pattern set by provident

parents. And neither parents nor others should make it difficult for those who are beginning together by encouraging the idea that they should be able to begin with what others have acquired only after long effort. Working and planning and pursuing common purpose can be very worth while. It isn’t always

easy. But things that come that way often mean much more. And this we should say to all who are beginning together (and to all others also): One sure way to make life miserable is to live in a manner

that is beyond your means.