TKAM Ch 8-9 journal #3: Atticus

I’m having a hard time with Jem and Scout. Don’t get me wrong, I love them both and I think they are the greatest things in my life. It’s just hard raising them without a mother, and I wonder if I’m doing the right things. Their Aunt sure doesn’t think so; it was so hard to take all the woman’s complaining. I felt bad for Scout the most; she was always getting picked on. I suppose that she could be more girly, but with an older brother as her idol, I don’t think she knows any better. In time I think she will be become acquainted with the feminine side of life, even if right now she’s perplexed on why some one would want to wear a dress.
The children seem to be fanatical with Boo Radley. It gets worse when Dill comes and I’m debating whether or not I should have a serious talk with them. When poor Mrs. Radley died the children asked if I had seen Boo, which I hadn’t. More excitement came when snow appeared the next morning. It was the coldest winter is God knows how long. I was in the middle of shaving when Scout started screaming, of course I ran to her, only to find that she had discovered snow. She and Jem were so excited; it made me happy just to see them happy.
When I cam home from dinner, I found that Jem had done good work while I was away. He and Scout had created a likeness of Mr. Avery and even though I thought it was very funny, I couldn’t let them keep it the front yard. They disguised it a little, which satisfied me. I made sure to compliment Jem, he deserved it.
I awoke in the middle of the night to the smell of burning smoke. My first thought was the children; I needed to get them out. I saw that it was Ms. Maudie’s house, the one adjacent to ours. Once we all got outside I made sure they were well away from the flames. After everything was done, we all went back inside the house. I noticed a blanket around Scout’s shoulders, and they informed that they didn’t know where or who it had come from. I came to the conclusion that it was Boo Radley himself, since he would’ve been the only one able to do that.
I’m not really making any progress with my case. Everyone is giving me a hard time about it, but I can handle it. It’s when people give my children a hard time about it is when it really makes me angry. I told Scout not to fight with anyone that called me that stupid name; I told here that it would make me angry. She’s too young to understand why I would defend Tom Robinson. The world is changing; we can’t have separate people in a place where we are supposed to be united. I’m proving something to myself by taking on this case, even if I know I won’t win it.
The relatives are always a hard time to overcome. Scout’s Aunt Alexandra isn’t the easiest person to get a long, but I put on a brave face for Jem and Scout. It doesn’t when Scout has taken on the liking of cussing. Alexandra gives me a hard time about raising her. I do the best I can and Calpurnia helps a lot, but it seems like Alexandra doesn’t approve. We left Finch Landing early, Scout got in some trouble with Francis. Jack took care of it, not the way I would’ve done, but he’s learning. I gave him some advice when we got back home and we had a conversation about the Robinson case. It was nice talking to an adult that understands.