Salutations and Greetings

Now that the news of the nuptials is known, the salutations are sweeter.

From Grandpa to Grandma the greetings have progressed from "Little Girl" to "Little Wifey"...

• Dear Helen
• Dear Little Girl
• Dear Girl
• Dearest Little Girl
• Dear Little Sweetheart
• Dear Little Sweetheart wife
• Dear Wife
• Dear Little Wife
• Dear Little Wifey

The openings from Grandma to Grandpa include...

• Dear Florian
• Dear Kid
• Dear Little Boy
• My Dear Florian

...however, the latest pet names have me mystified.  In a letter dated January 21, 1931 Grandma writes to Grandpa "Dear Pudi" and closes "With Love & Kisses, Buji"...

I would love to be able to ask them about the meaning behind these names.  I can find no reference to these names as historical characters, so can only assume they are just cutesy names they made up to call one another.

More later about why there are still letters back and forth now that the two are married...

Looks Like the Honeymoon is Over

If the letter contained bitter words and anger, Grandma's bold, block lettering was a telling indicator compared to the penmanship on other envelopes as pictured below.

I have mixed emotions about sharing the contents of the latest letters.  

The dates of the letters are now post Grandma and Grandpa's elopement, and they are certainly not what I would expect to hear from two newlyweds.  It would appear that they definitely had a rocky start to their semi-secret, impromptu nuptials.  Again, I have to remind myself that the ages of these two individuals (whose letters I'm reading now) were only 19 and 23 at the time.  Florian and Helen were not the 60-something grandparents I met when I came on the scene.

From their letters dated January 28, 1930:  instead of enjoying a honeymoon, the couple agonized over money and job issues, former love interests, relatives, and feelings of humiliation and uncertainties.

Rather than divulging the unpleasant details of these two particular letters from 84 years ago (almost to the day), I will leave you with these findings...

Grandpa used the word "cribbin" in his letter:

"Check out up there this week end.  If you don't I'll know your cribbin on me."

In looking up the word "cribbin" in the online Urban Dictionary, there are several definitions--all of which seem to be slang for more current-day activities.  I did find one definition that could be related to what Grandpa was saying which was Definition #4:  "The act of staying in ones area of residence or comfort zone."

...and then this finding...

Grandpa's first letter to Grandma after they were married was written on Kiwanis Club stationery.