Sunday

I went to Mass by myself today. I had a bad attitude about life and needed readjusted. It really helped.

This afternoon, the children played with their "autobots" - the autobots were having an election to decide who their next president would be. Elijah was voting for Optimus and Blankie Blue One. Olivia was voting for herself.

As for me, I am rereading every book I ever read during my childhood, including all the Little House books. Wow, they are even more awesome than I remember. Here is what I am getting out of them:

First of all, if you ever have a bad attitude about your quality of life, re-read The Long Winter. The Ingalls were stuck with almost no provisions, hit by blizzard after blizzard from Octobr through April. They could only warm one room of their house, and they got warm at night in their bedrooms by snuggling under the covers. They ran out of firewood and had to twist hay into stick-shaped bundles to keep warm. They ran nearly out of food, and lived on plain baked potatoes. They ground their own grain in a coffee maker to make plain brown bread. It was awful, but they were just trying to stay alive. They really didn't feel sorry for themselves. Ma was grateful to Pa for the potatoes and the grain, and Pa was grateful to Ma for keeping the fire going all day. It is really inspiring and even convicting.

Second, their morality is beautiful. The way Ma watched over their words, what they read, and what they thought. Their selflessness in working for each other. Laura giving her salary so Mary can go to school for the blind. The way they raise the kids, teaching them to not even think of disobedience. It would all be cheesy, except that it was true.

Third, their education. The stuff they had to memorize is awesome. They did everything in their head: Math, history, Bible, grammar. I'm pretty bright, but just reading about it made me feel slow.

I remember when I was a little girl, I always looked at new technology with a sense of wonder and thought, "What would Laura and Pa Ingalls think?" After re-reading the series, I am already starting to think that way again...