26 Oct October 26, 1944

Letter
from: Mrs. G. Shonkwiler
to: Pvt George W. Shonkwiler
Oct. 26, 1944
Thursday, 11:00 P.M.
Noteworthy: Mom gets no word from Dad over many days.

Hye, honey,

How are you?  Where are you?  Why haven’t I had a letter since the one dated
Oct. 5th, which I rec’d 13 days ago?  I have a pretty definite idea that you’re
being moved, and I’m terribly worried.  I lie in bed at night imagining all
kinds of things, and can’t sleep for hours, and when I do I just have bad
dreams.  This suspense is getting me down.  If I were in battle myself it
couldn’t be much worse than this waiting and not knowing[;] what’s going on?
I’m getting old in a hurry this way - that I know!

Today I’ve been pretty busy. First of all I washed clothes, then washed
bathrooms and kitchen floors and gave them two coats of wax.  Tonight, after
Elinor came back from her vacation we were going to have a snack, and our cocoa
boiled over and went all over

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the floor, ruining my wax job completely.  Boy, is that discouraging!  Such is
life.

I also started cleaning the car today.  First of all I polished all the chrome
on it, then dusted it and now I’m polishing it.  Not Simonizing but [using]
other wax.  Don’t s’pose it’ll look so hot, but at least it’ll be clean and
the chrome won’t be rusty.

I received a letter from Chuck and Betty today, saying both their daughters are
in good health and that June Elaine  (the 6 week old one) has stopped crying at
night, as she did at first.  They also wanted me to come to Rockford for a
visit soon, as I still haven’t seen my new niece.  I think I’ll go in the next
week or two.

I’d have gone last weekend but was afraid I might get a letter and I didn’t
want to miss it.  If you had any idea how I wait and long for those letters
you’d never miss a day writing.  At least I hope so.  I wait all morning until
noon for the first mail and then I can’t wait until the afternoon delivery,

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and then when there’s still no letter, I just mope around the rest of the day
and evening.  I can’t relax to read or even to write to all the people to whom
I owe letters, so I just keep on working, sewing or something.  That keeps me
occupied until I write to you again.

I weighed Ronnie tonight and he now weighs 31 lbs, which is pretty good, I
think!  He sure eats 3 square meals a day, so if he doesn’t gain it isn’t his
fault.  He finishes his meals when I do now, so that is quite a change from the
way he was after I went to Florida.  He also keeps asking for 2nd and 3rd
helpings, and I’m sure he eats more than I do, especially now as I don’t have a
very good appetite anyway.

Do you still have a cold, Darling?  I’m one of your last letters you mentioned
having one, and I keep wondering, too, if you’re ill and in the hospital there
and unable to write, that possibly being why

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I haven’t heard from you.

I finally managed to get 5 lbs of sugar and 1/2 lb. of butter.  Isn’t that

something?  Just got the sugar in time as I was almost out of it.  I got it
through Mrs. Dixon at her grocery. (Kroger’s store) Altho I trade quite a lot
at Bernie’s it seems they don’t go out of their way getting me anything.  Maybe
he doesn’t think I spend enough on groceries.

It’s now 11:45, so guess I’d better get to bed and give the sandman another
trial at putting me to sleep.  I bought a new nightgown the other day, it’s
cotton flannel with high neck, long sleeves.  I couldn’t attract the opposite
sex in it if I paraded in it all day.  It’s so nice and warm tho that I’m not
worrying how it looks.  I’ll save my fancy gowns until after the war. mmmm?
I hope you come home on a real cold night, so you can keep me warm.

All our love, honey,
Mom and Ronnie