Letter # 160 December 23, 1943

Dec. 23, 1943
My Darling;
I sure rated at mail call this evening and I don't mean maybe! 5 letters, 2 packages, and the Gazette. Whole mailbag all by myself. Three letters from you, only one turned out to be a very cute card. Every word on it is true and on top of that, I love you.
It was rather funny, I thought, until tonight, that you had taken my suggestion and hadn't written on Sat. I didn't get a letter Tues. and on Wed. I got your Sunday one. I was rather surprised to get your Sat. one today. Must have been held up someplace. Almost another lost letter.
The rest of the letters were cards from Mick & Louise, and the Blue Star mothers. Mick and Louise wrote a short letter on the back. Say they are having a grand time. Mick can get out nearly every night but has to be back by 12 at night except on weekends. She says he has lost all his bay window and needs his clothes taken in at least 6 inches. Hard life for us old fat men. I also see by the address that he is now a Pfc. Got his first step up. Good for him. She also mentioned the invitation.
One of the packages was from Art & Marg. Swell cookies! The other was from the Grange. Fruit cake and English walnuts. 'Spect you know all about this anyhow. I sure haven't been wanting for anything to fess on. I'll be spoiled. Good thing Christmas is almost here. One more day and I can peek at what my darling wife and the rest have sent me.
Honey you should have seen the packages and letters at mail call tonight. Took over an hour to call them all out. The boys were all like a bunch of kids. Getting the Christmas spirit. Santa is surely coming to this camp.
I went to the dispensary this morning and after a short examination, the doctor said it needed operating on. He froze the sore spot, took a knife and cut a hell of a slice in my heel. Didn't seem to be anything in it. He dressed it and told me to come back again tomorrow morning. It sure hasn't done any good so far. I believe it's even a little worse than yesterday. Makes me walk like an old man. Doesn't bother except when my shoe is on.
Good thing you didn't come down. You'd have had a crippled partner. We'd have been forced to stay in bed all the time. Wouldn't that have been hell? Don't know what we'd have done to pass the time. Of course, it's only my foot that is crippled. My half foot seems to be in good shape. Do you suppose we could get along on that? Bet it would keep us busy for a while at least. Say for 6 or 7 every day. We've never had a time when we could just lay in bed together for very long. Might be fun. Have to try that sometime. Just love and love and love and sleep a little and then love some more. Bet I wouldn't be the first to want to eat.
I do love you so much, honey. You're such a nice person to love. I still say that all the things I say about you are true. So there.
Now I'll answer your letters.
I may be prejudiced, but I think our cards are much better than the Abbott's. I had to look at the signature to be sure who it was. Neither of them were facing the camera. I'll send it back in a box or something. It's too big to fit my envelopes.
While I'm on the card subject. You can put your mind at rest about the ones to Steve & Funny. I sent them shortly after I got them.
Too bad you and I couldn't have been together, if you could have, easily been "made". I like to make you. It's fun.
You can thank your kids for thinking of sending me some cookies. They don't know how close we thought you were to being a mother. Do they honey? I didn't think you looked like a mother when I saw you in that dress. You looked like a very desirable and lovable wife. You were too Whoopee! Could I ever forget it?
I like to hear about your teaching as much as you want to hear what I'm doing, so don't be afraid to write about it. I'm interested in any and everything you do. Maybe I never told you, but I'm more interested in you and what you are doing than anything else I know of. Why shouldn't I be? You've got the biggest part of me in your keeping. All you don't have is my body. Wish you had that too. You always took good care of it except you left it get a little fat and out of shape. I'll let you keep it again though.
So you think you aren't as nice as the pictures I have of you in my mind? How do you know what the picture is? I haven't told you yet. You're just being modest, but all the time you think you're pretty nice too or you wouldn't be expecting the word picture to be nice. You're egotistical, honey. You can be though because the picture is very nice and I don't care what you say. You look better to me than any Varga girl ever did. Beside I can get some loving from you. I never dreamed of any Varga girl yet, but I sure have dreamed about you. Sometimes the dreams are so real until I wake up that they have become rather messy. So "shut up - please."
Time for bed, sweetheart.
Night honey. I love you.
your soldier.
Norm.