Little House on the Prairie

The other day I was unpacking our books. Before being mommy to Big and Little, I was an elementary teacher. I taught 5th grade and 2nd grade. Needless to say, I have oodles of children's books. And I'll never get them. No, you can't make me!

One series that I have is Little House on the Prairie, but this particular series, I had long before my teaching days. I've loved those books my entire life. My mom read them when she was a child and she read them to me when I was a child. The memories are still vivid of her sitting on the side of my bed reading them to me. Like I said, I was always a fan. She and my dad even took me to Mansfield, Missouri to see Laura's home there. It was an amazingly lovely experience. In fact, I'd love to go back some day.

Not only do I love the books, but I also love the T.V. show. I liked it somewhat as a girl, but now that I'm older, I adore it. No, it isn't very much like the books, but there's just something charming about the show. It's focus on family, faith and community are heartwarming and remind me of home. I own each season and have watched every single episode, more than once. They were my constant companion when I was a nursing mother. The show was an actual instrument in my survival as a mother of a newborn.

Am I ashamed to admit that I still love to read the books? No, absolutely not. Are you surprised to know I'm reading through the series again? Right now, I'm about to finish Farmer Boy. My mom still reads them from time to time. Ever feeling down about winter (this would be the perfect year for that...brr), read The Long Winter and you'll realize that you are, indeed, a pansy.

I also love reading the story of Laura and her husband, Almanzo.

Most of the time, when I see photos of people taken from this time period, the people look almost frightening. But I don't find that to be true with them. I mean, Almanzo could even be called good looking.

See what I mean?

And Laura's a simple beauty.

Sometimes, I wonder why I love the books so much? Is it because they were read to me as a child? Perhaps, but I think it's because although you know Laura's life was not easy, she writes about it as though it was charming. You know she was a little girl that was loved and cared for and saw her life through rose colored glasses. She didn't focus on the hardships, although she wrote about them, but they didn't define her life. She came from a loving family who counted their blessings and were thankful for the little they had.

That's so unlike me. I feel like most of the time I'm focusing on all the challenges (which aren't very big challenges compared to what Laura faced) and simply overlook my blessings.

So as I was organizing all my books the other day, I made sure to tell Hubby to keep these books easily accessible. Sometimes, I just need a little Laura in my life.