Anyway, I love the LH books and read them often, sometimes I read them aloud to my kiddos, and sometimes I don’t! Like you, I really appreciate their work ethic, etc . . . I just recently noticed something in the second book, Little House on the Prairie, regarding Ma’s attitude toward Pa. I have been reading Emerson Eggerich’s Love and Respect (I highly recommend it. I buy copies and give them away to people all the time. It is a crucially needed message.)and it just jumped out at me. Ma said to Pa, when he finished the cabin, “I’m glad to have a roof over my head before [winter].” She did not thank him for providing for the children, but for herself! She was respecting him and appreciating all his hard work for them, but she related it to herself. We don’t do that much anymore, do we? I really think our husbands would appreciate hearing that we respect their efforts on our behalf, and not just for the little ones.

I do have to wonder, though, if she isn’t taking it a little too far in The Long Winter, when lunch has waited a couple of hours for him to return from hunting and she hurries the girls to the table so as not to keep Pa waiting. I always thought that was kind of ironic, of course, he was hunting for their meals.

Thanks for the link. I think I am going to enjoy reading at that new site. I find it fascinating to learn about Laura’s actual life and the way she “ficitonalized” the accounts to tell a good story.

You should also read her journals, if you have not done so, and her articles that she wrote for farm women’s magazines. They are wonderful and give a clearer picture of her life as a grown-up.

Thanks for your blog. I love it. I visit often, although I rarely comment. I pray for your family often. God bless you all.

I wonder how Ma really felt about her life. It’s not like Pa was super successful at farming. And, they had some of the WORST luck!

I have never thought about it like you described – why don’t they ever get a break. I did however admire the way they did things – always using EVERYTHING and never letting anything go to waste. They made their own clothes, grew their own food, built their own houses… everything was self-reliant.

People nowadays would go nuts trying to live like them, because they’ve grown so dependent on the government to provide for them. I read an article once about how when you ask a kid today where food comes from, they don’t say it grows on a plant, they say – “from the store”. it’s not good for the next generation of kids.

Wonderfully thought-provoking! thank you for sharing!

I’m sure James is enjoying them.

I too have wondered about Ma and the fact that she didn’t have a nervous breakdown. Lots of women did back then. I probably would have !

I have also wondered about how Pa could go to the Wilder store and eat pancake after pancake when he knew his family was at home starving.

Thanks so much to the the LH link. I cannot wait to go check it all out.