I think we've established by now that I like old fashioned things. (I stole that phrase from Nancy Drew). Old houses, thrifted furniture and knick knacks, cooking and baking from scratch. Today I was thinking about people I look up to and admire, and one of the first people that always comes to mind is Laura Ingalls Wilder (what a perfect name, right? I love it.) I've always been a big reader and spent hours in my room in bed reading anything I could get my hands on, although I am a sucker for the classics. I started with the Little House on the Prairie series in 2nd grade and fell in love. I have read the series several times and reread all of them a few years ago when I bought the box set off of eBay to save for my future children. I cherish the stories of the Ingalls' struggles, humility and courage. Laura, whom her dad called 'Half Pint' was a little spitfire, but obedient and full of integrity, and honestly throughout my childhood I remembered 'lessons learned' from the Little House stories often. (By the way, I have tried to get a cool nickname like Half Pint for years. I tried to get David to call me Pee Wee and Freckles, to no avail. Haha.) I plan on giving the books as gifts to neices and close friend's children as they grow and hope that they love the sweet, timeless stories from the past as much as I have.
At some point I plan on traveling around the US and visiting any Laura Ingalls Wilder points of interest that might still be out there. I know there's at least one on the eastern side of South Dakota, which is where she lived for a large part of her life. I'm so happy that she recorded the amazing stories of her life when America was changing so much and things were so different.
I also love that my Dad loves Little House. He gave me a season of the show, which we both love, for Christmas a few years ago. My dad IS Charles Ingalls. He does everything for his family and always stands for truth. Maybe someday I can become more like Laura, just as my Dad has become like Pa.
