Viking_Yearbook_78

Evenings at home are hectic as Anna prepares dinner, bathes the children and spends time with them at the end of the day. If she isn't totally exhausted, Anna studies and does her assignments before going to bed . " My job at the medical school lab is a responsible position . I know what I'm doing and I do it well. It's about the only relaxing thing I do, plus I' m around intelligent and motivated adults," she said. Anna picks the children up at the end of the day and-if she has any energy left-she shops for groceries. " The kids are usually going in all directions and if they've left Fred Meyer' s still standing, we go home. " I cook dinner and feed the baby simultaneously. The other children are usually crawling all over me, hungry and glad to see me. When dinner is over, I stack the dishes and put them off for a few more days. Bathtime means water splashed all over the floor. I try to read some of my assign– ments later or watch a Blazer game. Sometimes I go to bed before the kids just to relax," she said . Anna has given a great deal of thought to the problem of not having a male figure in the home. She feels the children are better off by being with someone during the day while she is in classes, rather than being left alone . " I've thought of having my son Mark take part in the Big Brother program when he gets a little older, and he can join the Boy Scouts soon . I try to teach the values a man could teach, not from a male or female point of view, but on a person-to-person level," she explained. She admits a man in her life would make things much easier. " If there was a man in the world who met all my spe– cifications, between 30 and 60 years of age, and who my children approved of, life would be much easier and he could help do some of the babysitting." 79