Random post about Books and Families

I picked up a book at the DI.  It was a book I hadn't read since I was in first or second grade, but I remembered liking it so much I bought it so my kids could read it.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with The Boxcar Children, but it was a chapter book originally written back in 1924 for young readers.  There are actually over a hundred books under the Boxcar Children name, only 19 of which were written by the original author.  I never got into those subsequent books though, I didn't really care for them, all I cared for was the original.
So upon bringing the book home, I opened it up to be reminded of what it was like, and suddenly I was whisked back in time. I didn't realize how much this book affected and shaped my childhood play.  I ended up reading it from cover to cover over the last two days, not just because the story was so engrossing, but because the feelings and memories associated with it were so strong.

In a nutshell, it is about 4 orphaned siblings who run away and set up house in an abandoned rail car.  Their ages range from 14-6, the oldest and youngest being boys. 

I loved the idea of surviving simply upon one's resourcefulness and wits on the periphery of civilization yet beyond the conventions of modern society. And I'm afraid that being an orphan, or at least a runaway, was highly romanticized in my youth (nothing personal Mom). :)

Thinking back on some of my favorite books as a young person, I realize that this was a popular theme even as I grew older:

My Side of the Mountain, --NY runaway who lives in the forest

Island of the Blue Dolphins, --Orphan who lives on deserted island

The Cay, --shipwreck survivors who live on an island

Call it Courage, --storm tossed boy who is lost and left to survive on a island

Julie of the Wolves, -- Eskimo runaway who lives on the tundra

Wolves of Willoughby Chase --runaway orphans (although they don't do it all on their own, they have help.  I just liked the secret passageways in their house).

Hatchet --plane crash survivor

Just to name a few.*


I recall all sorts of games my younger sister and I played which involved us being somehow lost or orphaned and having to survive on our own.  Most often our yard became an island, with the wheat fields around us easily imagined as the vast expanse of ocean which we occasionally checked for ships. If my mother or any other member of the family showed up on our island, they were explained away as the native cannibals that inhabited the island --generally to be avoided-- and my cat, the ferocious man-eating tiger (which we eventually tamed and befriended because we were sick of running away screaming each time she came near).  On the other hand, if we were runaway orphans, my mother was either the evil headmistress, or the kind cook who smuggled us food unbeknownst to the evil Master of the house ...depending on the mood of the day.

My sister and I even went so far as to start writing our own book based on our pretend games. We were in 2nd and 3rd grade I believe, and the the basic premise of the story was that of two girls --the sole survivors of a plane crash, who washed up on a tropical island and had to survive on their own for an indeterminate time. The story is really laughable.

Ah yes, those were the good old days.

Anyway, back to this book which sparked so much reverie, The Boxcar Children.
I believe it was one of the first chapter books I ever read.  It is written simply and is easy for young readers to understand.  It glosses over any distressful things such as any details of how their parents died, and simply leaves out mundane details that kids might not think to ask but made me curious as I read, such as where do they go to the bathroom?  (Okay, so maybe kids these days would think of that, along with my immature self, but back in 1924 it wasn't something anybody talked about.) Barring the fact that the story is super simplified and everything works out so conveniently (it is a children's book after all), I was actually really impressed with the undercurrent of cheerfulness, selfless concern, maturity, and the skill and industry that the children exhibit.
They build a fireplace, and a makeshift refrigerator of sorts behind a waterfall, glean useful items from a nearby dump, even manufacturing their own tools and such out of bits and pieces of stuff they find there. The girls cook, sew, do laundry by hand, gather blueberries, and care for their younger brother as well as an injured stray dog. The oldest boy, exhibiting responsibility and independence, earns money by offering to do odd jobs at the home of an elderly Dr. as well as procuring leftovers from thinning the vegetable garden, some bent nails to be straightened and reused and an extra hammer he finds while organizing the garage which the old man is happy to give him. With his money he purchases milk and bread and ingredients for the girls to cook with. With the nails he builds a cart to haul rocks and together they build a dam across the stream to make a pool to bathe in.
The girls are motherly and skilled, the oldest boy is hard working and resourceful.  How many things in our popular culture today actually promote such ideals?  I'm coming up blank. I know this is only fiction, and in real life those kids would most likely have come to very unfortunate circumstances, but why stop promoting those kinds of attitudes?

Another book that I loved growing up was not on the list because the kids weren't necessarily on their own, and also because it's not really fiction, although it is written for kids, is that of the Laura Ingall's Wilder series.  Now there's a lesson in self-sufficiency and hard work.  Even within those stories, not everyone was cut out to make it on their own, but the whole series celebrates the freedom and independence and joy --yes joy of a job well done and living upon the fruits of one's labor and knowing how to provide and survive on the basic necessities of life.  In fact, the only antagonist, if you can call her that, I can think of is Nellie Oleson --the little girl in town who has everything and never has to work a day for any of it and who is so spoiled and mean that she really isn't very happy.
I'm afraid that the world today is filled with Nellie Olesons.

I mean, what happened? When did work become our enemy? When did comfort and ease become so important?  When did complaining cease to be considered ill-manners? In fact, what happened to manners at all? I mean, I know it wasn't all rosy, and that things weren't always ideal --I suppose I can be grateful that the "children should be seen and not heard" was left behind, although there are times when I wish I could apply it in my home... but honestly, sometimes I'd like to go back to the good old days, when hard work was the rule not the exception, people -even kids were empowered and taught how to survive and to rely on their own knowledge and industry rather than to wait for hand-outs from parents or the government.

I wouldn't give up modern medicine though, or transportation  ...or laundry machines...or flushing toilets...

Okay, so I'm not quite as idealistic as I sound, but at the very least, I can strive to foster these principles in my own home as much as possible.



Speaking of nurturing good principles through books, the annual Celebration of the Family Proclamation is going on right now through the 28th (you may have noticed the button in the side bar of my blog, see how I participated last year by clicking here).  Today's post was inspired by another great post about books for children that exemplify happy family relationships with a wonderful list of books that I think everyone should read.  (Probably more uplifting than my measly list of orphan and survivor stories, although you may notice my comment includes another book about an orphan). Anyway, check out all their other posts by clicking on the sidebar button and scrolling back through posts of the past week (there's been some really great ones), and following links to the other two blogs that are hosting this celebration. (When it's over I'll try to have a link to the main index page that lists all the posts and articles of past years --they're really all so great.)

Anyway, those are my random thoughts for the day.  Kinda random for being MIA for a few weeks I know, but hey it's better than nothing right?



(*Disclaimer: depending on your views, some of the books I listed are more appropriate for older children because the serious nature of surviving on one's own could be distressing to young children, and some parts could be a bit graphic.  Reviewing this list and googling certain titles, I am actually surprised at how many of them had been pulled from the shelves of libraries at one time or another, and equally surprised at what age I remember reading them.  Kids are so sheltered these days when it comes to human suffering, yet so exposed when it comes to sinful behavior.)

Soup's On!

It's been getting colder, and we all know what that means... Soup Season is here!

Actually, I have to admit this is warmed up V8.  My kids call it "Soup Juice" and prefer it warm. Go figure.
I'm not going to argue since it has a third of the sodium and way more vegetables, and now I've found that I like it better than regular tomato soup as well.

I haven't always loved soup.  When I go to a restaurant, the last thing I would consider ordering is soup.  Of course, we didn't have a lot of soup growing up.  Chicken noodle soup was about the only thing I knew,  perhaps a few creamy soups like cream of broccoli and clam chowder (what's the difference between a chowder and a soup?) and I suppose you could call New England Boiled Dinner "soup." Other than that it was just a can of Campbell's here and there, but soup in general was one of those things my dad didn't care for so we didn't have it very often --like Mexican food.  Random fact about me... I had never eaten at a Mexican restaurant until I was on my mission in Poland. Polish Mexican food is very different from American Mexican food (as in, I don't think Americans put curry on their taco salad), which I'm sure is very different from real Mexican food (pretty sure they don't use curry there either) but I wouldn't know. As a side note, Polish Chinese food is way different from American Chinese food, which I'm sure is nothing like actual Chinese food, but what puzzles me is that they all employ Chinese chefs, so.... yeah.

Anyway back to soup.

On my mission I learned to love soup. I love Polish soups, (most of them) Cucumber soup being one of my favorites, and there were many more that I didn't even know what was in them but they sure hit the spot in the winter after walking around all day in the freezing cold.  I even had tomato soup made from, like, real fresh tomatoes!!  (I know, blows your mind.) It was fabulous! However, when I got back to the states, I forgot about my love of soup, and went back to eating like I always had (with the exception of eating at more Mexican restaurants --the very Americanized kind like Bajios and Costa Vida and Cafe Rio).  However, last Spring I was in charge of a Relief Society dinner, and what did we serve?  Soups! Several Ladies brought crockpots full of their favorite soups and we got to taste them all.  It revived my love for soups. Not only that, but it even snowed for the occasion and we all know there isn't anything better than hot soup on a cold day!

So where was I going with this.... Oh yeah.  So it's been getting cold here, and the other day I felt like eating soup.  I had also read this book to the kids recently (which is an awesome book, and seriously could solve a lot of the world's problems if we could all live by it --think Zion here) and it sparked a memory in me.

When I was in joy school, (a fancy name for a neighborhood preschool co-op), we read this story and then the lady who was in charge that day actually made Stone Soup right in front of our eyes.  I was flabbergasted that she would actually put a rock in her pot!  I remember eating the soup and (besides worrying about the dirt that most likely came off the rock) thinking it was the best tasting thing in the world (perhaps it was the novelty of it, or perhaps the fact that it wasn't Campbell's had something to do with it as well).  Anyway, the memory has stuck with me ever since, along with the principle the book was teaching, and so I decided to make Stone Soup with my children.
When I first suggested the idea to my kids they were excited, but then my very pragmatic 5 year old informed me, "but rocks are not good for us to eat. It would be bad for our bodies."
True. Very true. So I explained and we scrubbed a nice sized stone that he found outside very well before putting it in a pot (one that doesn't have teflon).

That's no potato.

I roughly went by the ingredients mentioned in the book which included water, salt and pepper, carrots potatoes, cabbage, beef, barley, and milk. I say "roughly" as in I used carrots and potatoes, however I also used vegetable broth with just a little bit of water, celery instead of  cabbage, Polish sausage instead of beef, evaporated milk instead of fresh milk, (I was basically cleaning out the leftovers in my fridge) and no barley (ew), but I added some chopped up spinach. It turned out to be delicious!  I was quite pleased with myself. Who knew soup could be so easy?  It was somewhat reminiscent of Zuppa Toscana (which is something I've heard is served Olive Garden, but like I said, I don't order soups at restaurants I was introduced to it at the R.S. dinner).

The kids said it was yummy (although they had to be coerced to finish their bowls), and my 5 yr old said, "I must have picked a good rock!"

So much for them getting the point of the book.

I tried to explain that it was the townspeople working together and sharing the little they had that created something wonderful that none of them could have created by themselves and that applies to more than just feeding the hungry, of course... but I could see I was going over his head again and finally told him that yes, he picked a very tasty rock.

Perhaps someday he'll understand the concept.

If you want an even greater understanding of the subject (not soup but cooperation and pitching in for the greater good) here's a great talk that I would suggest reading.

Awesome!

So, you know when you think you have a good idea that's so unique and then you find that a million other people had that same idea way before you...

Well, when I wrote the post Happy Thoughts I really started thinking about expanding it.  I thought maybe some explanations would be cool, and I thought up a bunch of other things I could add, but then I found this book called The Book of Awesome, and got the wind blown out of my sails.  Now don't get me wrong, I loved the book, but it made my little list seem mediocre at best, and I'm not nearly as funny.  It's exactly the thing I would love to write (except without some of the entries that I have no experience with, like about drinking or guy things) to make people focus on the brighter side of life.
It's just a book about the awesome things of daily life, like finding money in the pocket of an old coat, or putting on underwear straight out of the dryer.  It started as a blog that the author decided to turn into a book (and apparently a calendar) but the blog is ongoing.  I bet it has altered the way he sees life now, going around day to day looking for something positive to write about and add to his blog. It definitely brightens my day when I try it.  So check it out.  (Just ignore all the advertising though, I think the success went to his head)

Oh yeah, and if you check the "Top 1000" in the side bar and you want to add your comment, realize that there are over 3,000 comments and it takes a long time to get to the newest ones.  I didn't realize this and started commenting on other people's comments before I realized they were written way back in 2009!  It was probably weird for them if they suddenly got an email about something they wrote 2 years ago. Yeah, I'm awesome (in a sarcastic sense if you couldn't tell).


Speaking of Awesome... Check this out:  My husband found it by the side of the road.

As if it weren't cool enough to find $20 on the ground, how about $20 with a plant growing through it?
Maybe it's a money-tree seed, and if I plant it, it will grow, and the leaves will be 20 dollar bills!

Now that would be AWESOME.