5 May 1943
John Griffin to Mother / Arlington, VA
Dear Mother,
I am going to get this off to you so it will arrive in time for Mother's Day. I guess I'll just have to take time out and get it written. I am so busy at work that I hate to take time out and at home I am trying to keep 2 gardens going, one of which is a mile from the house with no transportation. Besides I have two more huge oak trees to split up and saw, lawn to mow, etc. Anyway I do wish you very many happy returns of the day and many more of them to come.
Because of the gas situation and the difficulty of transportation I am enclosing two dollars which I hope you will use on yourself personally. Dot had hoped to get down town to buy something but so far has been unable to do so. She has no one to leave the kids with unless she takes them up to her mother and that is almost impossible with the buses as crowded as they are. With only one and one-half gallons of gas a week it is impossible to drive your car anywhere. We have only 3 more coupons to last until July 22 and I don't know how we are going to make it. We never take the car anywhere and yet it seems as though it is always out of gas. We have been trying to get some additional gas but have so far been unsuccessful.
As I said I am trying to raise a garden about a mile from home. We have quite a large patch of ground and I get up at 6 am in the morning and work until 7:30, then over there again right after work until it is dark. I have corn and beans in now and am going to put in most everything else I can think of. Hope it all grows. We've had peas up in the back yard for almost a month now but they seem to just stand still. We've had such cold weather that it froze five out of six tomato plants I set out last Friday. We are hoping to be able to put up a lot of food this summer and from all the forecasts we'll need it.
We received a letter from Elsie yesterday. She told us about her trip back, etc, and despite the fact that I know she felt pretty bad about the way things came out I believe she is taking it alright. She talks of going to school in the Fall or joining the WAACS or something. I think a change would do her good and I guess going to school would be the best for her if she can afford to do it. If things were to be as they are I believe that it is best she find out and get over it as soon as possible.
Paul is walking all over the place now, and even goes up and down the stairs alone. He is developing a personality very much his own, and has a will which is far worse than anything Bob displayed at his age. He doesn't talk a word except when he first sees me he'll say "Dad." He is awfully hard to teach anything and we are hoping that he will outgrow this as he gets older.
Bob is growing tall and is taking a very keen interest in our garden which we all call "the farm." He helps me plant and comes home tired out. We had a terrible time getting it plowed and so finally we rented a team of horses, a plow and a harrow and I and another fellow plowed it. Wit was one of these hand plows you walk behind and it was really work.
The leaves are finally beginning to come on the trees around our place. This has been the coldest Spring I can remember in Washington and everyone complains about it. Things are really going to be nice around the house when all the leaves come out and the flowers begin to bloom.
Again, let me wish you a merry pleasant Mother's day. I suppose Don will get up to see you and we wish we could be along. Maybe after the War we will all be able to get together again some Mother's Day to celebrate in proper fashion.
John
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