I don't watch TV...all the news I need is on the computer when I sign in in the morning..but I do love to read..biographies are my favorite..but anything that is historical and for the most part true.
My dear niece thoughtfully bought me a Laura Ingalls Wilder book~The Long Winter~
She bought it for me 2 years ago and I finally began reading it on one of the hottest days we have had so far this spring...ha ha it cooled me off I must say~I don't think I could have survived the winter Laura describes with such a joyful, let's-make-do-with-what-we-have-and-be-thankful-even-if-we-don't-have attitude! Was she being truthful in her recounting of her life? I like to think so.
It is difficult for us to look back at their way of life and understand it fully because, lets face it...we were not brought up that way. Some of us had more and some of us had less, but I would venture to say that since most of us, if not all that are reading these blogs, have computers. We have not had to sacrifice as much as our ancestors did. Frankly their lives and the living of it make me feel spoiled~I whine about going to the grocery store, or fuss when the furnace isn't heating me enough. How would I like to burn straw because the wood is gone to keep warm?...keep a whole family warm for 8 months and eat nothing but brown bread and if I was lucky little seed potatoes? (I love brown bread and potatoes but that is beside the point) I wouldn't like it in this day and age, certainly. I glance into my pantry and see canned goods..none that I have 'put up'. I made zucchini pickles once..that was my first and only claim of preservation..it was fun and rewarding but I haven't done it since. I do make most of my food from scratch but I certainly don't grind my own wheat to make flour.
So my point of all this is that when I am feeling down and out, I gather up all my pioneer women's diaries and read voraciously and that gives me strength, solace and appreciation that I am where I am today~spoiled but oh so appreciative of what they endured for me to live easier.
