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How would you feel, with no other family around for 60 miles, locked in by snow and blizzards, with no town, no TV, no pizza parlor, no miniature golf, no store even, with nothing all around you but ice and snow. Oh yes, and wolves. They make scary company. That's what things were like for Laura Ingalls and her family when they moved to Silver Lake that first winter. Pa had been out of work so long, that he had jumped at the chance to go west and oversee construction of the new railroad near Brookings, South Dakota. After the railroad job closed down because the winter was coming, Pa had to still make a living somehow. When he was offered the job of just living in the surveyor's house, with all the needed provisions already filling the pantry, and the offer of being allowed to use- and eat- them all, in exchange for house-sitting, Pa realized that this was the best way, under the circumstances, to provide for his family until the spring. It meant a very isolated winter, with no one for company but the wolves and the wind. But were they miserable? No, they were not. In fact, this is one of my favorite Laura Ingalls books because of the way the Ingalls family makes their own fun, happiness, and celebration, and just enjoys being together as a family. Their enjoyment of that isolated winter is so fascinating to me. It just goes to show that all we really need for happiness is the right attitude, as long as our basic needs for food, water, air, shelter, and freedom from pain are met. (Don't ever judge someone who is unhappy without this list of things I just mentioned- instead, find some way to help them out.) As the last man in the whole region, Mr. Boast, has just left, Laura writes: "After supper they all gathered around the warmth of the stove. Ma rocked Grace slowly to and fro, and Laura got Pa the fiddle box. Now the happy winter evenings had begun." Here we have a situation that could be looked upon as so boring, lonely, and monotonous, and yet Laura remembers it as the beginning of one of the best times in her childhood. This was mostly because of Pa's attitude, which he had also passed on to his children. Where good times did not present themselves, they would make good times by their own efforts and attitudes. How? First of all, Pa was not a complainer. He did not feel sorry for himself, and taught his children not to feel sorry for themselves. He taught them to look for the best in every situation. And Laura had done this. She felt grateful for the warm house with no cracks to let cold air in, and for the well-provisioned pantry. Instead of thinking about the cold snow outside and the fact that it was 60 miles to the nearest neighbor, she thought about the warm house and good food instead. You have things in your life that are pleasant to think about, and that bring you happiness. When you feel like complaining, why not think about them? |
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By Joy Marie Dunlap |
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popcorn. They did not need a store to buy Christmas gifts because they could make them. They did not need a TV, because Pa could play the fiddle, and they could sing. I've been in many different situations in my life. I even grew up without TV, and never missed it, either. And my children have been raised without TV, and without very many outside entertainments (as we could not afford them). We have discovered together that fun and happiness can be home-made. It doesn't start with a book on how many great, hilarious, wacky, wonderful, incredibly fun things to do at home. If you are expecting all of life to be one big party, you will be sorely disappointed. It starts with an attitude that life is what it is, and this is not heaven. There is work to do, and life is not all hilarious fun, but I am going to enjoy it. It starts by deciding, "Whatever there is around me to enjoy, I purpose to notice that and consciously enjoy it, whatever it is, a bird singing in a tree, a sunset, a butterfly, a pet, green grass, fluttering tree leaves, a soft carpet, a shiny wood floor, stars at night, a hot shower, clean sheets, a doll or teddy bear, good food, family laughter, a chase on the lawn, a family walk together, singing hymns, holding hands to pray. Whatever it is that is there, that God has given me to enjoy, I will deliberately enjoy it. I will not ignore it, take it for granted, demand more, wish I had anything else but what God gave me, long to be somewhere else, or snub God's goodness by not even bothering to enjoy what He has given me to enjoy right now. Right now is the key. Every season in life is different. When you are young, it seems like life will always be the same. You don't realize what you have now until life changes and you don't have it anymore. If you will pay attention to what you have right now to enjoy, you have no idea, until you have tried it many times, how much happier life can be. Life is what we decide to make it. Your parents make your life what it is, but you do too. Your cheerfulness and enthusiasm about the things your parents decide and do will make them happier, and make you happier, and help them make everyone in the family happier. The thing that really sticks in my mind about the Laura Ingalls books is that we can all have what they had. It does not take a certain type of house in a certain place, like the prairie. Chances are your house is much more comfortable than Laura's was. Happiness is homemade. Why not make some today and every day? ® |
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Furthermore, Pa knew that happiness can be found in the little things in life. They did not need a miniature golf place, amusement park, bowling alley, or skating rink. They had a board that could be made into a checkers game. They did not need a pizza parlor, because they could make |
