I asked Mimi and Bepa to take me to Marshall Field's to see Santa, but they said that we don't believe in that story. They gave in when I cried. The line was long and it took time for me to sit on Santa's lap. I showed him the picture of you that I had hidden in my muff and asked him to look for you when he is traveling around the world. I said you are missing and he needs to find you and bring you home. He looked sad, shook his head and asked if I wanted a toy and also if I have been a good girl. What could I say? I couldn't ask for a toy, although I wanted to have a doll, because I had to tell him that my sister and I fight all the time and I have started to wet the bed at night. Mommy is mad at me because she has to wash my sheets and blankets downstairs in the basement which is very cold even though the coal is delivered down a chute and the boiler is there.
I'm glad to have a warm bedroom and don't want to go out on the cold, but I need to walk to school every day bundled in a snow suit, leggings, galoshes and a hat. Mimi knit a wool helmet for me with little peep holes for my eyes, nose and mouth, but it is freezing outside and I come home with icicles hanging from my nose. We hear that it is one of the very coldest winters in Europe this year and hope you are staying warm wherever you are. I go to the movies on Saturdayafternoons and look for you in the newsreels, but it is hard to tell one soldier from another. I'm scared watching all the shooting and I wish Mimi and Bepa would sit with me instead of leaving to stand on long lines to buy rationed food so we have enough to eat. They have also been invited to a party at Uncle Eddie's house tonight and I am excited about seeing my aunts, uncles and cousins, but it won't be fun without you. You and your brothers ways have good jokes to share and make us laugh.
I will tell you all about it in my next letter. I miss you, Daddy, and I think about you all the time.Love,Maxine