Already the ninth of December! “How time does fly,” thought
Ina to herself. (Or is it Kathy that laments the speedy passage of time?)
Ina was glad to leave her reminiscences of that stressful
Christmas of 1933, but 1934 also had its trials. In October, Shirley had gone
to Idaho Falls for an extended visit with Earle (Ina’s son / Shirley’s brother)
and Bernice. The hope was that she would find a job. Ina knew there was no
future for Shirley on the farm and insisted she get away. And Ina might also
have thought that a break in Shirley’s developing relationship with Henry would
be a good idea. Henry had fine qualities but was poor as a church mouse.
“It
was the first Christmas I ever spent without the voice of one of my children in
the house,” said Ina, “but I stood all the Christmas doings just fine. There
were children to the right of me and children to the left of me, north, south,
east and west, and they charged the lonely Christmas idea with such skill and
loyalty that it was dispelled as a mist before the sun. We had a lovely time,
not only that day but beforehand.”
It was disappointing, though, that the effects of the
Depression continued. Daughter
Pearl, living on a farm in Alberta, said she couldn’t send presents because
they had nothing to sell. Ina was grateful that Pearl and family had plenty to
eat – vegetables, fruit, beef and pork, milk and butter – just no money. And
Ethel and Ernest, having moved to Minneapolis, were strapped and also unable to
send gifts.
And you know, Ina was a
bit peeved when her children said they couldn’t send gifts. After all, she never
had money for gifts, and yet, she put on her thinking cap and came up with
something she could do for her loved ones and even her neighbors. Why couldn’t her
children? Didn’t she always set an example of giving from the storehouse? And her
sister Bertha, too! She didn’t have anything to do with, and yet she gave lard,
mincemeat, jams and jellies, baked goods, and chickens.
As for her part, Ina forgot
to tell anyone it would be a skimpy Christmas and sent her customary gifts,
always somethings from nothings. KW
4 comments:
I'm also feeling the time crunch. I almost have my cards ready to mail--I suppose they'll still arrive in plenty of time if I get them out next week.
And if they don't, it doesn't matter. As Ina says, the late arrivals just prolong it. And we don't want you to feel pressured, especially this year. Just take care of little Silas and make sure he has a good time.
I tell myself that January is for doing the things I didn't get done before Christmas. I give myself leave to try recipes, work on holiday quilts, make doll costumes, etc. "It's not over when it's over," I say, and pretty soon I accept that spring is coming and I have other things to do.
I agree with your comments, Kathy. I love to prolong Christmas (as evidenced by my decorations staying up until at least the middle of January, if not longer) and often work on Christmas projects when the mood is with me, looking forward to bringing them out the next Christmas.
And Hallie, you're way ahead of me--I still have all my cards to do! They're on my radar though.
Thanks, Chris. And I have my cards yet to do. Getting to it is on tomorrow's list.
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