ANOTHER SKIMPY CHRISTMAS -- DAY 18

The old serviceberry bush, 1920

Jack had to make two trips to the mailbox today – the first to carry the packages and cards being mailed and the second to pick up the mail. The mailbox was a wooden fruit box turned on its side to which Ina had affixed a curtain. Mailboxes weren’t standard in those days, and nobody cared, least of all the rural route mail carrier, i.e., the mailman, who was the best friend of everyone on his route. He could be prevailed upon to bring all sorts of supplies from town. Whatever was needed, you had only to call the carrier and he would help you out. It was a kind and compassionate service in those days.

Okay, I digress. Jack made a second trip to the mailbox to retrieve the mail, and today he was rewarded with many cards – maybe six or eight – and he could tell that several of them contained newsy handwritten letters. Even Jack was getting a little excited about Christmas.

Inside the house, Ina and Shirley were bustling about. This was a special day – the eve of the arrival of Ethel and little Sadie. Having finished her packages AND her cards, Ina congratulated herself that she was mailing early this year.

Now came real work. The little table in the kitchen was fine for two or three but certainly not for more, so the dining room table was cleared of leftover paper, string, tags, etc. Then they freshened beds, prepared a pallet as a bed for Sadie, dusted, mopped, and planned a few meals. No decorating, though. They do that on Christmas Eve, remember. (If I left it until Christmas Eve, it just wouldn’t get done.) Shirley was entrusted with hiding Cuddles the Doll and other Christmas secrets, while Ina made sure her gifts for Shirley were really where she remembered putting them. (We learn as we meander through life that the memory is a strange thing -- not always accurate.)

Shirley thought of making gingerbread cut-out cookies, but Ina suggested they should wait and let Sadie help. “No, make a mince pie instead,” she said. So, dutifully but cheerfully, Shirley set about to mix pie crust and chop apples to add to the canned mincemeat. Ah! The aroma of the baking spicy pie, the snow falling outside, that happy Christmas feeling. The house felt warm and cozy as it should in winter.