December 17, 1966 The Mail, The Cookies, The Freezer, The Airport and The Package

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"I'll try to mail this today and maybe it won't be so late this week but I guess the mail is getting slower every day. Your letter didn't come until yesterday and I was beginning to wonder if you were all right.

I'm about ready for Christmas. I want to make a few more cookies but wouldn't really have to. One day this week I baked all day long.

B had to stay at school for lunch so I spent the whole day in the kitchen. It's been a long time since I did that. I have several things in the freezer now--apple cakes, banana bread, pie crusts, etc.

Ann has gone to the church to practice for their Christmas program which is to be tomorrow evening. She will go to that and we'll go to our church supper & program. When she gets home this morning we'll go buy the Christmas tree. She's been wanting to get it for more than a week but there wasn't any time when we could all go.

The school program was Tuesday night and was just beautiful--all music. Then the children did a program with a play and music yesterday but parents weren't invited to that. Ann said it was real good.

Bob writes that Williamsburg is very uncommercial at Christmas. He says they don't decorate at all except to put a lighted candle in every window at night. He has been wearing short sleeved shirts to class--it was 77º last Friday. He said it was hard for him to realize Christmas is so close.

We took Larsens to O'Hare Airport Thurs. afternoon and saw them get on their plane a little before six. They were excited. That airport is really an interesting place. We drove their car because Ann had choir practice and a dinner party that evening and had to have our car. We got home before she did. That day was like spring but it is colder again and the fog was thick last night.

We went to a dinner in Bloomington and when we started home everything looked so strange in the heavy fog.

We had an invitation from Ruth, too, but I wrote right back and said we couldn't come. It's too far to drive after church unless they had dinner in the evening and none of us would want to do that anyway. It is just too hard even if it would be real nice to be with all of them. It would be a nice trip for you if you didn't get too tired by doing too much before you go. If you do go, Daddy must go off by himself somewhere and take a little rest once in awhile. No one will think anything about it. It is not bad manners--just common sense.

The family living room, December, 1966

I'm glad the box got there in good shape. Go ahead and open it if you want to because I don't think you can tell what's in the packages anyway. Jerry's lamp is in there, too. I didn't know you had ordered the chair. If you get it you can give it to me for my birthday. That would be real nice. I'm sure Bob will enjoy the book. We got him one on fishing.

We haven't seen Toni this week but she seems to be doing fine and has the Christmas plans all made. I sure have mixed feelings about our Christmas. It makes me blue to think of not coming home and seeing you and Daddy at Christmas and then I get all happy thinking of Bob being here and us all having Christmas here.

I guess Christmas has to be a happy and sad time all wrapped in one package. We have so much to be grateful for."

                      Lots of love,

                           Bonnie

A Christmas stamp...

And Grandmother's note to herself