Hi Nannarose ,
I never witnessed the abuse , but I heard it .
Looking back , life fir most if my auntsxwas very hard .
I think that excessive drink caused abuse from their husbands .
There was an inflexible order .
I guess that they didn't know any better .
In those days , no one was going to use soft words - should you fall into the pig pen and never come out , drown in the pond or be maimed or killed by dangerous farm equipment .
I look back on those days as actually they were very happy , because life was so simple and stable , we were busy, we had chores , we had fun , but we had boundaries - which we never crossed .
I preferred being with my country cousins as I loved farm life and my relatives always treated me with such kindness and generosity .