The author describes the development of her child and comments on the possibility of her family moving from Massachusetts to Illinois, saying ". . .I would like to have them with me but not here. [T]is no place for an old man like father nor such an one as mother. [I]t makes my heart ache when I think for an instant as their living here. [T]is good for young strong beginners, but for an old man or a young man without strength, it is no place at all." Irene goes on to describe how life in Illinois is difficult without money, and details domestic conveniences typically lacking in the West.