From 8-year old Hilda’s diary:

Today we are going to Tante Bertha’s for dinner at twelve o’clock. I love to go there because I love her. I don’t care if she isn’t a good housekeeper or a good cook, or if her tablecloths always have spots on them. Grandmother and Aunt Tillie are always saying that her place looks just like a pig pen but that isn’t true. I saw a pig pen once and it was much dirtier. Anyhow, I’d rather live in a dirty house where everyone is happy than in a clean one like Tante Esther’s where you have to sit straight up in your chair and speak only when you are spoken to and everyone is saying, “Children should be seen and not heard.” I told Grandmother that I would rather be happy than clean, and she yelled, “Why Hilda! Never let me hear you say that again.” So next time I won’t let her hear me.