“Those few weeks that Jed and I shared after our wedding were full of joy and happiness. We were like two kids. We were together as much as possible. We wanted to have lots of memories of each other to hold onto to help us get through the impending months ahead.
But our wedded bliss was short-lived. Within a month Jed, Dalt, and Newt all left for Quebec. From there they sailed to England to train. They were all part of the Second Canadian Division and had managed to stay close together. After months of diligent training practices, they were all sent to France to the front line of the war. I was comforted to know that they were together, looking out for each other.
Jed wrote to me often, and I back to him. I read his letters over and over. His words gave me strength. Then I put them under my pillow. It helped me feel like he was close to me as I slept. Even though this seems like it was such a harsh reality to deal with, my life was no different than thousands of others at that time. It was just the way it was, and I had to accept it and carry on. Many young men left their new brides and fiancés behind to go to fight in the war. Some returned, but many didn’t.
I continued to live at our new home after Jed’s departure. I felt like he was still close to me there. It was February and cold, but I was pretty stubborn. Jed’s parents kept an eye on me and helped when I needed them. I tried to help them with chores as well. Jed’s absence was a great void to his folks. His older sisters helped with the chores when they could, but I know he was greatly missed.
Pa and Ma found it pretty tough with Dalton and Newton gone. The twins, Milton and Malcolm, were the only ones living at home. Ma said she was lonesome without the company of another woman around. They made do until spring. Colton, his wife Jane, and their family moved back to the farm in April. They had been living with Jane’s relatives a concession over since they had got married, but Pa needed Colt’s help desperately.
Colt’s wife was a nice young gal. She and Ma got on real well. They had four children by then. That put some life back into the old house. Both Ma and Pa were thankful for the distraction. Dalt and Newt’s safety played heavy on their mind.
By April I knew I was pregnant. I had had my suspicions in March, but wrote it off to stress and worry. I guess all the love making Jed and I’d enjoyed before his departure had proved to be more than sheer pleasure. I figured the baby would be born around Thanksgiving. I was so excited. Part of Jed had stayed behind. We were having a baby. It was sure wonderful to think about, and it gave me back a bit of happiness. Our letters had a happier tone as well. We talked about names for the baby and all the things I was busy making to get ready for its arrival. Jed was hoping for a boy, of course, and talked about all the things he would be able to teach his son.
Jed’s folks and mine were all excited with the news of a baby. It was the first grandchild for Jed’s parents. It gave them such a lift. Jed’s father said that he would make me a cradle, and his mother and sisters all got busy making little clothes and blankets. It was like a ray of sunshine for them. Of course, his parents would no longer hear tell of me doing barn chores or heavy work. They started pampering me to the point that I had to put a stop to it. After all, I was just having a baby.
With the warmer weather of spring, my spirits sure picked up. Jed’s dad ploughed up a little plot for me to put in a garden. That helped me put in my time. Ma and Pa or one of my brothers stopped by quite often to check up on me. I was getting on fine.
By the time haying season rolled around, I was as big as a house. It was a really hot summer, and I was finding the heat hard to take. That wasn’t like me at all. I had always enjoyed summer and the hot weather. My ankles swelled like balloons, and the extra weight exhausted me. Jed’s mother said I needed to stay off my feet more. She was worried to the point that she took me into the doctor. He did a quick exam, and he, too, was concerned. He said that my blood pressure was elevated and that I was probably having a big baby due to my enormous waist line, or lack of it. He advised me to rest as much as possible and take it easy on the eats or things would be hard come delivery time, especially since this was my first delivery.
Well, I took the doctor’s advice, more out of necessity than want. The extra weight took its toll on me. I was exhausted all the time. I felt I was a burden on Jed’s family. I was eating most of my meals there so I could stay off my feet. I was really quite uncomfortable at that size.
One day, in mid-September, Ma stopped by to see me. I was feeling in a bad way. Ma was so worried for my welfare that she packed me up and took me back to the farm. She’d seen other expecting women in my state of health, and they either died before birthing, or the baby was stillborn. She said my stubbornness was going to cause me or the baby ill effect. I think in today’s medical terms, I would have been diagnosed with eclampsia or toxemia. Back then the medical testing wasn’t up to today’s standards. I didn’t mention any of this to Jed in my letters. After all, he had enough to think about. I was safe and had loving people to take care of me. I was thankful for that.
After two weeks of bed rest at my folk’s house, I was feeling somewhat better. In the first week of October I was feeling so much more like myself again that I considered going back to my own home. Ma put the damper to that. There was no way that she was letting me out of her sight until after the baby was born.
I went into labour in the wee hours of the morn on Thanksgiving Day. Pa lit out to fetch the doctor. Everything progressed quite quickly. The doctor arrived just in time to deliver little Murray Bryce. I was so thrilled that Jed’s wish for a son was fulfilled. He would be so pleased. Then to everyone’s surprise, fifteen minutes later, I delivered little Mary Beth. It seemed like we both got our wish. We had decided on the names in our correspondence to each other over the last months. Murray was Jed’s father’s name and Bryce was Colt’s middle name. I had always liked it. Mary Beth was named after both her grandmothers.
The twins were both healthy and nice sized babies. Now I knew why I had gotten so enormous. The doctor said he never suspected twins, especially since I carried to full term. Even though Ma had had twins, I’d never given any thought to the idea that they would come in twos.
Well, having twins sure put my life into a tailspin. I’d helped care for lots of babies, but two kept a woman pretty occupied. Thank goodness they were healthy little tykes. I was fortunate to have Ma and Jane’s help, for sure.
I wrote to Jed and told him the wonderful news reassuring him that the three of us were all doing well. In his return letter, he sounded so excited to be the proud Poppa. He was shocked to know he had two babies. He sounded tickled to have a son and a little girl who would be his princess. I think the news brought him hope.
Well, those twins grew pretty fast. They were happy and content. Of course, they sure were spoiled. Jed’s family doted on them. They visited often, and I tried to take the twins to visit them on a regular basis. The Harmons were good to me and those little ones.
I ended up spending the winter at Ma and Pa’s farm. It took a few months for me to get to feeling myself again. My folks wouldn’t hear tell of me taking Murray and Mary Beth back to my own home in the dead of winter. I knew they felt the need to take care of us in Jed’s absence. I must say, I was thankful for their help and company. I knew in my heart, that as much as I would have liked to take the twins back to live in the house their father had built for us, it would have been a real tough go for me with two infants during such cold weather. It was one thing to haul water from the well to do my laundry and suffice my needs, but it was another thing altogether with all the diapers and clothes from two babies. I knew Ma and Pa were right.
I also knew that Jed felt better knowing that I wasn’t at the house alone trying to fend for myself and the twins. In one of his letters he had written, “You had best stay put at your folks for a while, at least until you get your strength back. You will have your hands full with two babies to nurse and care for. You need to take care of yourself Anna, and be mindful of your own health. Those babies need you even more in my absence. You have to be their Ma and Pa until I return. I pray that will be soon. I so long for you and the opportunity to meet our children. That time cannot come soon enough. All my love and affection. Jed”
I was very fortunate to have had my family’s help and support. I know that there were other women in the community that weren’t as lucky as I. Times were tough during those war years. As hard as I thought things were for me, without my husband, I had people who loved us living close by. They were always ready and willing to lend a hand. That’s just the way it was back then, family helping family. That’s what helped get us all through.”