Today’s letter reminded me of when I was pregnant with my children. Hearing bits about my grandmother’s pregnancy experiences is rather fascinating. It was certainly something that we never talked about when she was alive. My grandmother did meet my future husband about six months before we were married but talk of babies was still in the very distant future. She eventually died a few years later before I had my firstborn.  In the last years of her life, she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia. I don’t think she was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s but it was certainly suspected.  I doubt she even knew who I was the last time we met.

When she was pregnant with my father, Gladys was 36, going on 37. My father was born about 6 weeks before the 37th birthday. I was a couple years older than that when I gave birth to my youngest.  Thirty six was fairly old in those days for having children, but not unheard of, especially with women who had larger families. My father-in-law who is slightly younger than my father was born when his mother was 42.  I did not enjoy being pregnant, either time, but I think the second time was harder due in part to my age. Both my children were very active in vitro which made me very uncomfortable most of the time. My youngest also liked to sit on a nerve that affected my left leg. I also remember waking up in the night with leg cramps. Boy, I don’t miss those.

____________________________________________

Letter transcription:

Wed.

Dear Mother,

Just read your two letters and also Ed’s. His was rather it interesting but not much about himself except that about the Yoll stove. I don’t know what happened to him at Chicago. I wanted him to go to the Arnett Crocket Clinic in the first place.

Yes it may or may not have been wrong to sign up for that flight school but there was a fellow transferred from here the other day who had been here about 10-11 months + too Dr. Rude the one that was coming here-was married and had a child 5 yrs. old and he was sent to sea. So there you are. You can’t figure anything out in the navy. In the first place why was I sent down here-

If I were you-instead of taking too much laxative I’d use small enema at least for the time being. I forgot to say anything about the leg cramps. That will happen in spite of everything, but you should take some vitamins. Say one unicap each day. Of course Dr. C[ole] may prescribe something different but you can’t beat those and they don’t have any taste to upset you.

No one has gotten any orders now

(page 2) for ten days. So maybe I did make a mistake by trying to get out of here.

I told Mr. Ferneau about the letter Dorothy sent. He just laughed, guess I told you that before but its so long before the letters get back that I forget what I have and have not written.

Seems as if that was all the new-all we did today was examine + shoot. Had 2084 men to shoot today. So the day wasn’t wasted I guess

Love Daddy