Dec. 27, 1943.

My dearest Hal,

We have had quite a time in this house for these past few days. Mother had the flu first and was in bed with it most of the last week. Daddy woke up with it Christmas morning and I have been in bed yesterday and today. Tonight I feel a little better but I have to write a few words and then rest, this thing certainly does take the pep out of you in a hurry. I hope there are no germs on this letter I should hate to send you this awful feeling.

Sambo has had a bad cold but he hasn’t had the flu and I am hoping he and Peggy are not going to have it. Peggy has really had a hard time of it, keeping up fires, cooking and waiting on the sick, to say nothing of trying to amuse Sam who cannot understand all his family being sick.

I think Sam had a very satisfactory Christmas. He had been sick for about a week with a cold and really wasn’t able to enjoy it quite as much as I could have wished. He got a little bowling alley, an easel, a set of building blocks, some more pieces for his erector set. Some paints, several books, war stamps, he got quite a lot of nice things. He has a very pretty Christmas tree which he enjoyed helping to decorate.

I am sorry he has not been able to have any children in to play with but that can come later when we are all better. Christmas night he said, “If my Daddy could just come home that would be the best Christmas present I could ever have.” Of course that is true and we are hoping that by next year Daddy will be home. I feel I can not take very much more of this separation, but of course I can take anything I have to I guess. 

I believe everyone thought I would need stationery to write to my husband. I got seven boxes. Most of it came from school and so wasn’t the finest. Nana and Jane Byrd both gave me some air mail paper which was lovely. You will get a great many letters but you would have gotten them anyway.

Peggy gave me a lovely vase and I hope I shall have flowers to put in it when summer comes. The thing I wanted most of all, Mother gave me. I have always wanted a nice leather frame for your picture. This one is double and I shall have Sam in one side and you in the other. You see there are two men in my life but I never worry, they are never jealous of each other. Sam reminds me a great deal of you.

You are going to have a lot to live up to when you do get home because Sam thinks his Daddy is just about perfect. If you ever had any faults we have forgotten them long ago. I some times wonder what will happen when you do get home but I think we never forget what this separation has meant and we will probably be more understanding and patient, at least I hope so.

You ask what the censors are doing to your letters. They are seldom opened and nothing is ever cut out now. The first letter I ever received from you was cut all to pieces but only the first ones. They have not been bothered for more than 18 months. Are my letters ever cut up? I try not to say anything that could possibly matter.

You have probably gotten my letter telling about Sgt. Harvey. One thing he said sounded so much like what you have written me I thought it was right funny. He said “Mrs. Wilson when your husband does get home you might as well expect to be with him every minute. He won’t want to let you out of his sight. He is afraid he might wake up find he’s back in India. He can hardly believe he is really home, it seems too good to be true.”

Darling I hope it will be true sooner than either of us think. I hope your Christmas was made happy by knowing our love and prayers are with you always.

All my love,

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