#this high stress utilitarian lifestyle is probably what led to her greying hair

[she-jo]

thatsdelightful replied to your post: I have a lot of meta about Marlena bluejeans and...

Man just give me all of it. How did she raise that farm boy!

-cracks knuckles-

So, Marlena came from a hard working, farm family and she raised Barry essentially the same way she was except probably a little more open-minded than her family had been. This was a tough, brawny gal  (Barbarian class). She and Gregor operated as equals in every respect. They both did the housework, cooking, the child rearing (for what little Gregor was alive for it) and the hard labor of the farm. Gregor’s death didn’t make her cold-hearted either, but it did toughen her up even more than she already was. Though, Barry can tell you there were times he’d wake up in the morning and no lights would be on in the house, no breakfast cooking on the stove (his mother was a very early riser), and he’d tiptoe to her room to find her curled in her bed still wide awake and tearful. 

Marlena put a lot of emphasis on Barry’s education. She did whatever she could to get books in the house, made sure that he studied but that his portion of the household chores were done. Much like Gregor, she and Barry were equal partners when it came to their lives. For Marlena it was “It’s you and me kid, we’re all we’ve got.” 

But for all her tough-as-nails exterior, Marlena was FUN. She was kind and made sure Barry knew he was loved. Sure, she made him throw feed and muck stalls, but after? After, they were strolling down to the corner store for ice cream cones or reading bed time stories or playing games in the yard.