Boys of Jo | Louisa May Cook

The book "Children of Joe" traces the lives of the daughters of Marsh, alongside the children of Joe—and his daughters—who grew up in her school, although some of them found a path far removed from the old Plemfield path. Like the previous part—"Young Men"—the author depicts the lives of her heroes after ten years have passed, and the young men and women have become youths trying to carve their own paths and explore the world in their own way. But they still need the care and advice of Mother Bayer to stay on the right track, to succeed in passing the tests that life rains down upon them, and to rely on their confidence in the safe haven they turn to in every hardship. Mrs. Joe Bayer realized that her own test was not easy either, after her children—whom she calls her own—grew up. She, like them, needed patience, wisdom, and insight to be able to give them sound advice, knowing full well the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders, and realizing that she would not have succeeded in this arduous task without her husband's and her family's faith in her and her mission. Thus, Joe strove with all her might to plant the seed, do her best to water and care for it, and believe that it would take root in good soil. After that, she had nothing but patience to see the fruit of her labor, sweet and palatable, like most of her fruits—an unripe mother from whom no good is expected. Her trees bore fruit, and she reaped the reward of her efforts. After that, there was only to "let the music stop, turn off the lamps, and draw the curtain on the Marsh family life."