Marriage Is A Partnership (1951)

[Music] on our way now can't turn back took a lot of courage to get on this train I wonder what will happen from now on I wonder a lot has happened in the last year our first year of marriage gee we got a good start I remember coming home from a wonderful honeymoon we were so fortunate our housing problem was taken care of Pete's mother owned a two family house she was a widow and lived upstairs and we were going to live downstairs Pete had a good job worked in the same PL as my dad but Dad didn't introduce us though we met at the church I still haven't forgiven Daddy for not telling me about Pete in our two years of courting and engagement we had come to know a lot about each other we had learned to love each other in a way that stood the test of 2 years time [Music] anyway and there we were in our own place place that was to be our home at least for a [Music] while well we had to unpack and we were both so tired daddy Duchess Madam here seat thyself in Royal Splendor while I shall get thee thy Royal cup of coffee is creamed and sugared exactly to my taste Thou shalt be my Royal brew master for evening coffee from this day forward from this day forward have and to hold oh Pete we're going to be so happy together I feel so comfortable with you I feel like I feel like I can take my shoes off I'll always love you daddy always wouldn't it be wonderful if time would stand still if we could always keep what we have [Music] tonight from the beginning we were learning to live together and to love together learning to adjust different sexual responses but time doesn't stand still and marriage is far more than loving together and enjoying companionship it's making decisions together and we had to learn to plan as partners that first Monday morning I was so proud of my man going out to earn a living for us and Pete was so proud of me cooking our first grade meal then suddenly was time for Pete to go to work he said he didn't want to go but he was a responsible married man now well when you marry you have to adjust to many changes and I well we had decided I should quit my job when we married maybe I should say quit my payche I still had a job as the weeks went by sometimes I regretted that decision to quit my job for one thing I missed those paychecks and staying home was hard it was an adjustment I had to work [Music] out but there were satisfactions in being a married pair one thing was our partnership in handling the money conflicts over money can be a real problem in marriage but we decided together how Pete's salary would be spent maybe we didn't always agree but we decided together so our joint decisions on this and other problems of home management helped in my adjustments from a working girl to a non-employed wife hated by little bits of fun and thoughtfulness the partnership flourished another thing Pete's contributions to my sense of accomplishment I had a lot to learn about cooking and keeping house and sometimes those things can seem unimportant and dull believe me a wife does appreciate her husband's appreciation and of course that works both ways I tried to learn about Pete's job sometimes I shared his enthusiasms and there were times when I had to help absorb his frustrations it was all part of the partnership of course our marriage had its ups and downs they all do but I guess we had worked out pretty good adjustments on affections and our sex life decisions in our money matters adjusting to each other adjusting to our marriage sort of showed us how to face these problems but on another potential source of trouble in-laws when we first planned to move into that two family house I thought of all those mother-in-law jokes still they couldn't apply to nice people like us but there were things like I was planning my first Bridge lunch and honey Jane can't come on Thursday wonder who I should get for a four mother plays a good game of bridge yes but maybe she wouldn't enjoy playing with a bunch of giddy girls no honey she love it she likes young people of course I asked her she insisted on bringing a fancy cake it was delicious everyone said helped make a good party but it wasn't my party afterwards Pete said he was glad I had asked her said she could have seen from upstairs that something was going on might have felt left out how did I feel as if we were living in a huge goldfish Bowl but I couldn't explain it to [Music] Pete it wasn't all bad Pete's mother and I had good times together shopping for instance I could learn a lot from her her experience in getting Bargains her little tips on Pete's special likes and dislikes but well one afternoon Pete stopped in upstairs to deliver a package his mother had asked him to pick up and it turned into a habit to drop into his mother's on his way from work two or three times a week I didn't mind so much supper being late I kept telling myself but somehow it seemed on those nights we always got into an argument sooner or [Music] later I tried to tell Pete how I felt but it was no use he'd just get sore and make some crack about my family I thought my family was pretty wonderful my dad and I were real Pals we talked things over about Pete's mother I mean Dad could understand so could mom we had some good chats together on Saturday afternoons when Pete would play golf it was a joy to see the way Mom and Dad understood each other anticipated each other's needs sometimes without a word being spoken they had really grown together in their marriage why couldn't we well in more ways than one it was a long fall and a cold hard winter meanwhile we were still working out other adjustments together little things my serving liver and learning to enjoy it because Pete liked it so much big things Pete's realizing that a wife still likes to go out once in a while remembering the anniversary of our engagement with tickets to a special show he knew I'd been wanting to see married life isn't all Hollywood Moon beams and honeysuckle but it can be Mighty satisfying at times came spring and my first Spring House Cleaning and well it was Pete's mother it wasn't that she criticized me or even told me how to do things but somehow whatever I did she did too but in a different way and it seemed to me she always thought her way was better there were so many little situations that probably wouldn't have mattered if we hadn't her and mad that evening after supper I thought the time seemed right to talk to Pete about us but suddenly Daddy I U I got a surprise in uh today's mail an offer of another job wonderful job but uh way over in Central City let's talk it over it's time we get away do something really decisive about the influence of your parents on our marriage my parents listen to me all the way honey before you get mad it's time we well we've got to talk this thing out you don't know what it's like working in the same plan as your your wife's father dad likes you Pete he's done so much for you oh sure he has dear I know your dad's been swell try to understand me means so much to have you understand golly if you feel that way Pete just do there must be reasons they I me not seem very important to you tell me Pete things like well when I got that promotion in December you said how Grand it was of your dad to help I mean praising me to the boss and all I felt as though I I earned that race myself and stories of influence like that didn't help me with the other fellas then you appreciated your dad's efforts I wanted I wanted you to appreciate mine Pete darling how could I have been so stupid and I heard when you carried our family troubles to your folks and spoke of their houses home and compared us with your folks I understand come to think of it Peter I suppose part of me never really did get married how could I really build our marriage with part of me wanting them to approve everything I did [Music] gosh what a difference when you see the other fellow's point of view when you recognize that you aren't the only one with problems but we did have to face the other issue it was hard telling Pete about his mother so he wouldn't think of it as a Counterattack he tried to understand and I tried to be fair about it I could see that I'd been on the defensive hadn't understood that a widow might sort of need a man around the house and Pete said that he needed that both of us needed to grow up more needed to grow away from our parents a bit more we've grown up a lot just tonight haven't we hun we can talk our troubles out this way we're really growing up and growing together sure helps a lot when you can bring things out in the open talk them out together how do you feel about Central C hun I would like to get away to a new job be out my own and it is a big change and maybe we don't need to run away from our parents now wouldn't be running away you really want that new job Pete and that's what we [Music] want yes it's a big ch change new friends new home Church New adjustments and living there will be other problems ahead bigger problems but it'll be the two of us working together hey where have you been talking to the conductor trying to get Pullman accommodations and I got them do you beat your thoughtful hey thatches what am I doing on the seat Pete and I will both miss our folks all of them the grandmothers would have made good babysitters wherever Pete's job takes us even back to our hometown I know we'll work things out together as [Music] [Music] partners