DAY 14 -- ANOTHER SKIMPY CHRISTMAS WITH INA

I’ll have treats on the tree for all, mostly sugared popcorn as they all voted it best for before dinner consumption. Of course, there will be candy and nuts after dinner. -- Ina

It was another rather drab day, but today, it just couldn’t dampen Ina’s spirits. She didn’t decorate in advance, but she was planning the celebration. She didn’t exchange gifts with the neighbors – no one could afford to take on extra – but she did have treats for all, and with Bertha’s help, an excellent meal was provided with leftovers parceled out. Jack and Ina weren’t the only ones quietly growing older and trapped in this way of life. Those who would come to dinner on Christmas Day were facing the same challenges. It wasn’t just that times were hard. Times were changing. “But,” thought Ina to herself, “no use to think of these things.”

Ethel continued to sew in the morning. She did the family’s mending, before she finished the costumes for the play. As she made ready to attend play practice, an idea suddenly occurred to her.

“Mama” (Ina’s children always called her “Mama”), “come with me to the schoolhouse this afternoon. Dad will carry us in the wagon, and it would do you good to get out of the house.”

At first, Ina protested – too much to do, packages to wrap, cards to write – but Ethel was persistent. Ina spent by far too much time in the house. Finally, Ina relented and they rode to the schoolhouse in the old wagon. [Did they have a wagon? Well, they do in this story.]

Ina, who had been a certified teacher, was totally at home in the one-room school. Not all the children were involved in the play, of course – only the younger grades. The older boys – and some of them were already big as men – were excused to find a tree for the school room in the nearby woods. Jack went with them. The older girls enjoyed helping the little ones rehearse the play.

And then it was time to go home, again stopping at the mailbox for today’s cards. Ina was beginning to feel the Christmas spirit. More cards were coming now, from near and far, inspiring her to write her own. Yes, the cards were such an important part of Christmas, just as Kathy and Chris remember. KW