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Show 36 her daytime hours were too full of work and distractions to be productive for intellectual pursuits. Therefore I began my studies at four o'clock and put in three solid hours before the household began to stir. Such discipline of the mind is not equal to the wonderful advantages of college training, very very far away from it! Yet I'm sure it helped me in many ways, teaching me many useful truths leading onward and upward to better thought and higher ideals.29 And so she passed the first winter of her husband's absence. With the coming of spring, she took her children south to Mt. Pleasant in Sanpete County for a visit with her father and his family. The little boys had been taught to sing and recite, and their personalities were developing, all of which proved a delight to the relatives as the youngsters became acquainted with that part of their mother's family. Ellis, needing it, got a welcome respite from "teaching and strenuous home cares." However, I soon rallied for it was not for long I could brook inactivity and dependence upon an aging father who had all he could do to provide for his already numerous family. So I applied for a school for the summer season and my application was granted, greatly to my satisfaction. My boys were safe with so many watchful eyes to guard and so many kind hands to protect and care for them. And once again, as it so oft had been, I was prospered. I was blessed, and oh so truly grateful to the Giver of all I enjoy.30 This concludes the sunset recollections of Ellis Reynolds Shipp, bridging the interval between her marriage to the beginning of her seven years of journal keeping. We are now ready to begin a here-and- now look at Ellis during a crucial period of her early adult life. |