yours till the statue of liberty has twins

On this mother's day I was looking through and old autograph book that was my mother's - Georgetta Maxfield.  Autograph books were very popular in those days.   Her book is dated 1940 although there were entries up to 1946.   There's a lot of sentiments from many of her friends then - some are still living and some, like her, are gone.   Some of the writing, in pencil and in perfect cursive writing, is faded and barely legible - maybe like the people who wrote them.  Below is the first page of the book.

It's fun to think of my mom in 1940 at a time when the second world war was about to start - a turbulent time for sure.  She was 12 years old then.  I don't really have a picture of her that I know for sure was taken then, but the one below is one of my favorites.  She told me she made the dress she was wearing.  I figure she was maybe somewhere between 14-16.  I think she was beautiful and I wish this was in color.  I am sure her hair was a beautiful auburn color.  I wonder what she hoped for in her life in those days.  I  know she, at one time wanted to be a hairdresser and she always wanted to see Venice.

 Many of the entries are the usual "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue", but there are some are pretty unique.  There seemed to be a theme of comments that began with "Yours Till.....  Here's a few examples.

Yours till the statue of liberty has twins

Yours till the table legs wear stockings

Yours till snowballs melt in hell

Yours till chairs walk

Yours till I die

Yours till we eat turkey fried in Greece

Yours till they make toothpicks out of the board of education

Yours till the river hangs on the roof to dry

Here's a few of my favorites.

April 30, 1941

You can may write all you wish

You may write all you please.

But please, as you write, don't tear out the leaves....Georgetta Maxfield

December 18, 1941

Georgetta now

Georgetta forever

Maxfield now

But not foreverr      Donald Maxfield

December 19th, 1941

I love you little, I love you mighty

I wish your pajamas were against my nightie

Now don't get shocked

Don't get red

I mean on the clothesline 

Not in the bed

February 16th, 1942.

First comes love

Then comes marriage

Then comes Georgetta 

With a baby carriage

Hi Sugar

What's cooking

Chicken, wanna neck?

Policeman! Policeman!

Get on your duty!

Here comes Geogetta

The American Beauty

December 12, 1940.

Dear Georgetta:

No matter where you wander

No matter where you be

You'll always be a daughter to me.

Love your dad

Forever yours.

Dear Georgetta:

When you grow up and go away

Think of me

Every day.    Mother

Can't write

Born dumb

Inspiration won't come

Can't write bum pen

Think of me, now and then

When the golden sun is setting

and the earth no more your trod

May your name in gold

Be written 

In the autograph of God

My sister and I found this book at different times and wrote in it as well:

Best wishes 

To the greatest mom in the world

Your daughter, Barbara (1961).

I guess I wasn't all that creative:

To the best mom in the world

Love, your daughter Donna (1963).  

On this second motherless mother's day, I am happy to be a mom and a grand mom and carry on - but I sure miss you.  Every day.