Dear Sirs And Dumb-Belles

When I was a kid, my Dad had a little book that must have been published in the US either during World War II or shortly afterwards. It was called "Dear Sirs and Dumb-Belles Lettres" (with that spelling) and it was a very small paperback with a bright yellow cover. Possibly it was printed in this small, softbacked format so that soldiers could carry it around with them.

The book was a collection of letters and excerpts of letters from and to US soldiers during World War II, usually from or to the draft office, the Army or their wives and girlfriends, and it also contained some cartoons. It was very funny. They had chosen all the humorous parts of letters to print.



My Dad's favorite was a letter from a lady to her soldier husband/boyfriend, telling him about the relaxing time she'd been having (maybe in a spa, I can't remember), and her makeover (course they didn't call it that back then). In her letter she wrote "Feeling a new woman!" And he wrote back "Me too!" and I think they might have parted ways at that point. My Dad had to explain that one to me.

I was thinking about the book recently because I remembered the letter. The reason is that I've been feeling a bit like a new woman myself recently. I spent my 40's going through the menopause (we Cupcakes tend to start things a bit early!) and last year I finished it. I know! And I'm barely old enough to be a grandmother.

Anyway, I decided that now I was finished with all that nonsense, I could get on with enjoying life a bit more, for which I reckoned I needed to get a bit more fit. There's life in the old Dumb-Belle yet! So last summer I gave up smoking, finally started going to the gym (which I had been paying for quite a while without actually visiting, as so often seems to be the case!), started eating healthy and lost all the weight I'd put on while I was battling through the menopause.

I certainly do feel like a new woman at the moment. Or maybe just like the old woman I used to be. And maybe I'll see if I can find an old copy of that little soldiers' book.