December 18, 1918 – Full diary entry:

“This little diary will soon be finished. I got it for Xmas last year from Nora. I wish I could send it home to Lenore.”

A couple of interesting things about this. First, the fact that it was a gift from Nora absolutely blows my mind. It makes the diary a keepsake that conjures both my grandfather and grandmother, for one thing.

Second, it suggests that Robert was seeing Nora longer than I thought. The diary starts on January 1 and Robert reports having dinner with his fiancée Dorothy that day. The next two entries are about spending the day with Dorothy on January 19 and January 20.

Then a very short entry on January 23 where he mentions Nora for the first time. And finally a large gap until February 14, when he reports that he and Nora were married.

So, assuming Robert wrote these entries on or near the actual dates, then he got the diary as a (presumably secret) gift from Nora and used it to record his last few dates with Dorothy before getting married and (a little late) breaking his engagement.

Lastly, I think it’s interesting that he wanted to send it home. Was he worried he wasn’t going to make it home himself?

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.