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Second Mum by Larner	12 Review(s)
Calien	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/18/2018
Wonderful chapter! Finally Frodo can go to Bag End. And I love Bilbo's words about his Light. I think that Frodo is very very beautiful in spiritual sense and the bright, brilliant beauty of his soul can illuminate everything. Menegilda has really prophetic dreams about Frodo's future condition? Or these dreams are consequences of her fears? Esme is a very good mother (and my english is bad, I suppose...)

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/26/2007
I just love Bilbo and I love him even more in this story. I laughed out loud at Merry's talk about Otho and whether or not he properly looked for them. Too funny all around! Author Reply: Oh, I love Bilbo, too--oh, so very much. As for Merry--the logic of children, particularly ones who want someone they love to "come home" again! So glad you appreciated that. You're catching up quickly, I see.

Antane	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/20/2007
But I swear to you he is the equal of the noblest of those who ever graced Middle Earth. And he proves it by nearly dying himself to dive in without hesitation to save Gomez. The poor lad so depressed about being deprived of life that he abandons even his love of reading but then the Invitation comes and he's wild to accept and my heart rises in happiness as well. Merry will come to understand that his Frodo will always be his Frodo. And hopefully Gilda will see that Light one day and realize how much brighter it has become when the lad is allowed to be a lad. The Creator has indeed blessed him. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: I've been trying to post every other day, but I understand how it is at the end of the school year, believe me. Frodo can't stop being Frodo, and Frodo sees a need and seeks to fulfill it, no matter who the person is. And he now has the invitation and rejoices to accept it. It's time to embrace life once more in what time is granted him to know such appreciation unfettered. So glad you're able now to catch up.

Armariel	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/20/2007
Awww poor Merry...how sad for him to lose his cuz, and for Esme also...but wonderful for Frodo and Bilbo too! It's the start of a whole new life..... ~~~{~@ Author Reply: Yes, a new life for the two of them, and a new era for Bag End.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/20/2007
Frodo risked his life to save Gomez, of all hobbits? I hope that gave not only his shrew of a mother but this bully something to think about, too! sigh I know Menegilda meant well, but still ... I’m not happy with her, not happy at all. As my uncle uses to say: Meaning well is the opposite of doing well. Even if she truly had some foresight in this matter, she lived near enough to truly watch Frodo and to realise he’s at his best health as long as he is allowed to do something and at his worst when he was held back from everything. And he didn’t drop dead when he did something, even something more strenuous, didn’t he? Even if his heart would have been truly as weak as Gilda thought, some easy tasks would have been of much more use than what she did. And it seems she purposedly shut her eyes to these correlations. Bilbo had an odd way to tell Frodo he was going to take him to Bag End grin No wonder the lad was so confused. But you know, I always enjoyed the fact that Bilbo’s adoption of Frodo got the S-Bs out of the way to inherit Bag End and being family head. It’s fun to imagine them fuming when they finally find out. The only disadvantage of the whole thing is always that Merry is separated from his Frodo, poor little mite. Author Reply: I doubt that, once a crisis presented itself, Frodo would care whether or not he liked the person who needed help--he'd just help and be done with it. And I suspect Marguerite has had a turn-around in her own thinking. Oh, you're so right--meaning well and doing well are NOT the same thing. Here there's an old adage that tells us that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. And we can be so blind to some of those closest to us, and Gilda has managed to do. In the book it was said Bilbo suggested Frodo move to Bag End with him so they could plan their birthdays together more easily, and so I tried to just flesh out that scene a bit. And I bet that the three of the S-Bs were indeed fit to be tied once they realized they were NEVER going to inherit Bag End. Yes, Merry's no longer going to be able to follow Frodo around like a puppy, but he will do his best to spend what time he can with him from now on, and there's no further reason for the Brandybucks to avoid Hobbiton.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/19/2007
Good for Bilbo and Company for finally giving Menegilda what for! A change of scene is just what Frodo needed. Author Reply: Oh, indeed--Frodo couldn't have endured without losing part of himself, I suspect.

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/19/2007
Wow! That chapter was overwhelming! First of all, the storm and snow and flood! Menegilda was apparently so occupied that she could not look after Frodo, otherwise she would have forbidden him to go with the others. And then Frodo saves Gomez' life! Not any hobbit, but Gomez, his "personal enemy", without hesitation! That's our Frodo! After that Gilda is watching him closer than ever. From your description of him, I can understand that Bilbo and the healers called it "fading". Menegilda may have had dreams of the future, but as Galadriel said, the future can still be changed. And so Bilbo finally decided to "claim" his boy. I loved Bilbo's description about how Frodo's Light affected all those around him! And finally Frodo accepts. “No!” Merry said. “He can’t go!” “He has to go, Merry.” “But he’s my Frodo!” “No, Merry, he has to be his own Frodo before he can be anyone else’s.” Well said, Esme! He has to be his own Frodo! He has to find himself! That's what is most important! Author Reply: The storm and its resulting flooding is patterned on one that affected our region some years ago, with some aspects of a second storm that downed thousands of trees just in the small city we lived in at the time. Gomez had to have good reason to give over his antagonism against Frodo; and I don't think that Frodo would ever care who it was who needed help--he'd just plunge in and do what he could. Apparently the Elven description of the final depression leading to death after deep personal loss, the gradual letting-go of their feär, was referred to as "fading," and the Fallohide Hobbits, from whom the Tooks and Bagginses were descended (and to a lesser extent the Oldbuck/Brandybucks, who had a fair amount of Stoor to them) were associated with the Elves of the upper Anduin valley. That this term would pass into usage amongst Hobbits of the Shire just seemed logical, particularly in the case of those who sank into melancholy and depression as Frodo was doing. That Menegilda might have dreamed truly, but that this was something that must be endured that Frodo would choose to go to the Undying Lands in the end seems logical; and as Galadriel indicated, some situations aren't even likely to occur unless you purposely turn out of your way to try to forestall them, as it proved Menegilda was doing. I've been trying to show the situation I've described briefly in my other stories as it realistically might have happened. And we do have to own ourselves before we can give ourselves properly to others. So glad you appreciate it.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/19/2007
I have been trying very hard to be accepting of Menegilda and then you turn my feelings about her around when you mention her prophetic dreams. Trouble with prophecy is 'you know neither the day nor the hour' and in trying to avoid you can cause more than trouble! My heart was bleeding for our Lad in his lassitude and depression. (Have been there when it is external circumstances that you have no control over that are causing the stress and depression!) About time, if not indeed well overdue, for this family conference/discussion/confrontation/'thing'. I like the way that not everything happens at the 'best' time in your tale. It is much more realistic. Esme knows that he has to go but such an abrupt move away is very hard on the whole family. I think that any Mum who has waved her son/daughter off to University may be able to echo this. Life can be cruel sometimes. York in the Spring sunshine was great! I was sad to have only a couple of hours for sight-seeing. Walked on the wall and looked at the outside of the Minster. But hey are now charging £5 just to go in and £10 if you want to look at the Undercroft etc! I didn't have time and I also have an objection to being kept out of a Church by money but I can understand it. So my friend and I went to the Shrine of Margaret Clitheroe instead. An ordinary houswife who was pressed to death for harbouring Catholic Priests in her house on the Shambles! A peaceful moment in a busy day. Listened to LOTR all the way back on the train. Author Reply: One of the truest things said by Galadriel as she invites Frodo and Sam to look into her mirror is that it is a poor guide for action--that it shows what is, what was, what will be, AND what might come to pass ONLY if one turns out of ones path to attempt to forestall it. And Menegilda, in seeking to spare Frodo heart failure in the future only, through enforced inactivity and helping bring on depression in Frodo, serves to cause the earliest symptoms of the condition herself. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, which is why we who are Christians were commanded by our Lord to live our fullest today. Aragorn, a mortal raised by the one group of Elves in Middle Earth who have had time and experience with mortals to appreciate just how ephemeral mortal life can be, has been raised to appreciate this truth for himself, and to grasp to him and celebrate those joys that are granted to him as they are presented. Bilbo seeks to do the same for Frodo, although his wisdom is more native and due to his own experience. "He who would save his life shall lose it, and he who would offer up his life for my sake shall find it." The paradox of mortality stated simply. It's not the length of our lives that matter, but the quality we give to them and receive from them. That's what we offer back. For years Bilbo did only what was expected of him, and he lived a "safe" life, enjoying adventure vicariously through his books. Now that he has faced life and real adventure, he would not see Frodo spared the joy of living in the moment simply because Menegilda would seek to preserve him, knowing that things that are preserved retain the same seeming indefinitely do so because they have died. Have stood on the square to look at the site of Margaret Clitheroe's death. Again, in seeking to turn away evil far more evil was worked. In West Memphis, Arkansas, the region sought to scrub away an evil by imagining an even worse one and choosing a scapegoat, sacrificing two more lives in order to make certain their chosen scapegoat suffered for what it's most likely he had nothing to do with. This past week at last hope is come that that terrible injustice will be made right for its three victims, who have lost fourteen years so far, and they wait patiently for the next round of court hearings that will decide their fate. Meanwhile someone else got away with a horrible crime. Pray for Jessie, Jason, and Damien, please, and for the memory of Chris, Steve, and Michael. And let us rejoice in the day God has given us.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/18/2007
Finally! At last, Bilbo's asserted himself, and Menegilda's been brought to see how wrong she is! But I feel for Sara and Esme and Merry (and the other Brandybucks). They will miss their Frodo so much. sigh Author Reply: Yes, at last what needs to be done is being done, and at last all are in agreement. And they will miss Frodo indeed, and particularly Merry, who does get his own little brother/cousin to share with Frodo. But Bilbo had to be frightened for Frodo's health and safety to intervene at last. None too soon, of course.

elanor winterflowers	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/18/2007
Ah, at last! Good for Bilbo, and the healers, too! Wonderful narrative of the storms and the troubles following in Buckland. I had a very real sense of how they managed, and what it would have felt like to be there. Very tough in the fiber, indeed, are hobbits! I loved the little moment when Merilinde meet Frodo in the hall. He must have been so attractive--it always makes me sigh to think he chose to be a bachelor. But at least he got to live with Bilbo! Oh, Merry must have been furious! Pippin came along at just the right time, didn't he? Author Reply: Yes, at last they've asserted themselves, and to Frodo's benefit. The way the storm runs is based on two storms that hit this region, both in the fall, the second one bringing warm rain after two snowfalls as is described here. The whole area knew freak floods; and when soil becomes too saturated trees are more easily toppled by heavy winds. The idea of the area below Brand Hall forming a flood plain I described in "Floods and Glamours," and is based on the flood plain of the Mersey River outside Manchester, England, there in Sale where friends have lived and watched the river's behavior for half a century or better. And of course Hobbits are tough in the fiber--that's as Tolkien himself describes them, after all! Merilinde may admire Frodo, but she and Brendi are already an item, as described in "The Ties of Family" and "The Acceptable Sacrifice." And I do believe the Ring Itself played a strong part in Frodo and Bilbo remaining bachelors. And indeed, Pippin came along just exactly at the right time for Merry. You're right there! Heh!

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