My dad found a Christmas letter dated December 1970. He thought I'd find it interesting and could use it for blog fodder. In the letter, mom wrote an update on each of us kids. I was 8 at the time.
Joanne is a happy 8 year old in the third grade. Joanne especially
loves animals and babies. She was thrilled over winning two blue
ribbons at the fair, one for cookies and one for a knitted pair of
slippers. She enjoys reading, but most of all cooking. She has made
cookies, cakes, pancakes, biscuits and complete dinners. She also
likes to draw and write and asked if she could share one of her poems.
SANTA CLAUS
This is Santa Fellow,
His stomach is like jello,
He is fat and plump,
And can jump, jump, jump,
He's got eight reindeer,
that can even fly over a spear,
I hope he comes this year,
For I want his reindeer. by Joanne
This is me, pretty much 37 years later. I still love babies (animals not so much.) I remember that Christmas. I wanted a real, live baby. When my parents tried to talk me out of it, I wanted a monkey, or kitten. But that was only to take the place of the baby I was afraid I wouldn't get.
I get a thrill out of winning. I enjoy reading and cooking. Actually, I LOVE cooking. (Baking not so much.) Drawing? Hmmm, I doodle. If I'm on the phone on hold, I draw squiggles to pass the time. Writing...well, here I am. Poetry? Yep, I'm still not very good at it.
My dad only sent me this portion of the letter. I wonder if what was said of my siblings holds true today. My parents were 30 and 31 at the time and I'm sure were very busy. I can't wait to read the rest of the letter.
13 comments:
Haha, Papa told me about this before he sent it. And, he said the exact same thing as you: Nothing has changed.
Oh, gosh--how cute! Well, you sure did get that baby - or two or three ....
How much fun is that?? I need to get my hands on my mom's old Christmas letters...
You sound like you were a real sweetheart, Joanne...but that's no surprise to me!
How wonderful to have something like that from your Mom. What I wouldn't give!! (Our house burned when I was 13 -- my mom died from her injuries) Treasure it always!!!
I do have lots of old pictures I got from my Aunt. I'm grateful and -- I treasure those!
And...I love poetry from an 8 year old!!!! Totally sweet!
That letter is a treasure! And you were quite a little poet. Any chance you'll try to write some new poetry?
what a precious keepsake.
how funny to see who we were compared to who we are!
amazing how little changes!
How fun! What a neat thing to read.
What a wonderful leap into the past. I love it!
You could knit and bake cookies at age 8??? That is so awesome! I could barely tie my shoes and walk in a straight line at age 8! Sheesh!
If and when you have time, I tagged you for a Book MeMe. I love to hear what books are being read.
That is really precious. I love how if you couldn't have a baby, you wanted a monkey instead! So cute!
What a lovely paper memory! :o)
I think this is awesome! I wish our family had kept stuff like that. I'm sentimental that way, but my parents weren't. I think it's sweet the way she listed off everything you made instead of simply saying, "She likes to cook." And the line about reindeer jumping over the spear cracked me up! Great post!
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