The Big Woods

One of my most precious possessions is the set of Little House books my Momma and Daddy gave me. As a child, I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder more than recess. Recently, I was cleaning one of my book shelves and came across my copy of Little House in the Big Woods. Right there on the floor, I propped myself up and read it again. I can remember getting so INTO these stories that I wished and wished that I lived in a little house in the big woods with my family. That we had to make our own cheese and Daddy had to hunt for our food (which I obviously didn't think through - my Daddy never would have shot ANYTHING. I guess we would have been vegetarians). Needless to say, I didn't think through the no running water/bathroom portion of that equation.
When I reached the end of the book, I was overcome with emotion that I remember feeling when I read the end of the book for the first time at 9.

She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the firelight
gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the
honey brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and
knitting. She thought to herself, "This is now". She was glad
that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and
the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought,
because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

I thought about how precious our time together is. How the world plays a cruel trick just when you feel comfortable, and pulls a fast one. If you want to hear God laugh..tell Him your plans. I miss my time with my Momma and Daddy. Our time of music, of laughter, and of all of us being right down here in the Big Woods together. I ran to Doodle's room, picked her up, and held her so tight she squirmed in my arms. Then, I cried.