16 7/8/1944 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson Box 1310, Knoxville, Tennessee Saturday, July 08, 1944

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, Today I got your nice long letter, Mom, and am so glad you are home again and that hard trip is over. I wish you were still here with me but I know Pop is glad to have you back. Mom, you know you were protected on your trip. Probably you have read about that terrible train wreck. It happened right near here and it was the L&N train and was wrecked on the very tracks you rode over. Many of the injured were brought to the Oak Ridge hospital. I can't get over the accident Ruthie had and it was wonderful how she recovered. I needed you here, Mom, to open my eyes, as I realized then how much I was getting away from C. S. although I didn't go so far as to rely on doctors. The time Jimmie was circumcised I had talked to the practitioner first and she worked for him. I know it is the only thing and I think if I could get to church often that would help me more than anything and reading too but when I don't do either and don't have any C. S. friends it seems easy to drift, however I always rely on it when troubles come up but that isn't enough. I want to get back my self reliance in its power as I find I am fearful about things I hear and I didn't use to be like that. For instance everyone here is having typhoid shots right now and although I wouldn't consider giving Jimmie and Mary the shots, all the talk I hear about typhoid does bother me a little. I had a letter from Stella telling me about the girls' operations. I hope they are all right now. I don't think it is entirely Stella's fault, though, as Harold is so set in his ideas and when he decides something Stella has to do it. I don't have that to put up with as Elmer leaves things pretty well up to me. If I had been in Stella's place I never would have mentioned the children had bad tonsils. She said she just hated to have it done. Glad is lucky to have Cully so interested in Science. Irma Moore, a friend of mine from Monroe who has been here a year, came over to see me the other day. She expects a baby in October. Anyway, she said the doctors on the reservation were supposed to be the very best and this is what I'm anxious to tell you. After a woman has had her baby, they give her leg exercises the 2nd day. On the sixth day the woman walks down the hall to the bathroom and takes a hot bath in the tub. On the seventh day she is up and walking around but taking it easy like I did - and the reason is so she won't lose her strength. So you certainly knew what you were doing, Mom. Irma said the doctors say that staying in bed for ten days or more just shouldn't be done. Thanks for sending Jim's letter. It seems strange to have him call Pop, Dad. I'll send the letter on to Glad. This last week has been wonderfully cool but started turning hot again this afternoon. At least it was nice to have some relief from it. The blackberries are just thick around here. Jimmie and I picked a pan-full this afternoon in just a few minutes. There are just millions of them right in back of us just two houses down so we don't even have to cross the ditch and the houses are still vacant around us so we have no competition, but there are plenty for the whole reservation. So don't pick berries to make jam for me because it is too hard a job and I could do some canning if I just had the time. The Atkins, the ones who fixed our car, may move up here. Orin [?] Atkins was here for an interview yesterday and Elmer had lunch with him but at that time he didn't know yet if he was going to take the job or not. Mary is certainly a good baby. I can put her right down after feeding her and she goes right to sleep. In the evenings, the time she used to fuss, I usually hold her and talk to her a little and put her to bed for the night about eight o'clock. Sometimes she starts to cry a little but stops right away, just like she knows she shouldn't. I have put her on a schedule now so I'll know when I can go out. I have to wake her up for every feeding so just feed her every four hours instead of three. She is so fat that's all she needs anyway. Tomorrow I can get my camera, thank goodness. Elmer painted again tonight so I took Jimmie up to the swings. We just got up there and he had to push hard. He tried to hold it but couldn't so I had to carry him all the way home as he couldn't walk since his pants were full and he still had to go more. He still wets his pants most of the time but I don't believe he can help it. Yesterday I spanked him every time he did and one time I had taken his wet pants off and was still bawling him out and he wet right on me. I decided I would have to work for him and not punish him until I'm sure about that condition. At least I'll just scold him or something as I can't just ignore that wetting all the time. Yesterday I sent him to bed once for doing it. After that he would wet his pants and then come to me and tell me I better tell him to go to bed. Elmer is asleep on the davenport so I guess I'll send him to bed and go too. How are you feeling Pop? Love, Helen