Living Like Laura, #1

I love the Little House on the Prarie book series! I have been reading these books as long as I remember and I was so excited to have daughters to read them to that I started reading to Courtnee when she was only 4. Halle and I just finished By the Shores of Silver Lake, and we are ready to start on The Long Winter. I am drawn to these stories again and again and I get such a sense of comfort from reading them. I am somewhat envious of Laura's life in the American frontier and I have often wondered why a woman in the 21st century would be so envious of a girl that lived in the 19th century. What draws me so strongly to Laura?

I have concluded that most of that envy comes from the simplicity of the life Laura led. I know that life wasn't easy and I do not envy her the lack of plumbing, electricity, transportation, privacy or the fragility of life without medical care and good medicine. I do not envy her dependance on the weather for her farmer father's and husbands livlihood. But I do envy her the beauty of a simple life that
allowed time to experience life and not just watch it disappear. She lived in the moment. That is lesson #1 from Laura, learn to live more fully in the moment.