I wish I could see you for a good talk , Marmee . Love and trust me . Ever your AMY CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO TENDER TROUBLES `` Jo , I 'm anxious about Beth . '' `` Why , Mother , she has seemed unusually well since the babies came . '' `` It 's not her health that troubles me now , it 's her spirits . I 'm sure there is something on her mind , and I want you to discover what it is . '' `` What makes you think so , Mother ? '' `` She sits alone a good deal , and does n't talk to her father as much as she used . I found her crying over the babies the other day . When she sings , the songs are always sad ones , and now and then I see a look in her face that I do n't understand . This is n't like Beth , and it worries me . '' `` Have you asked her about it ? '' `` I have tried once or twice , but she either evaded my questions or looked so distressed that I stopped . I never force my children 's confidence , and I seldom have to wait for long . '' Mrs. March glanced at Jo as she spoke , but the face opposite seemed quite unconscious of any secret disquietude but Beth 's , and after sewing thoughtfully for a minute , Jo said , `` I think she is growing up , and so begins to dream dreams , and have hopes and fears and fidgets , without knowing why or being able to explain them . Why , Mother , Beth 's eighteen , but we do n't realize it , and treat her like a child , forgetting she 's a woman . '' `` So she is . Dear heart , how fast you do grow up , '' returned her mother with a sigh and a smile . `` Ca n't be helped , Marmee , so you must resign yourself to all sorts of worries , and let your birds hop out of the nest , one by one . I promise never to hop very far , if that is any comfort to you . ''
`` It 's a great comfort , XXXXX .
Beth Jo Love Marmee Mother confidence father fidgets look minute