Saturday, March 21, 2015

March 21: Writing Prompt #80-Bedtime Stories

What was your favorite book as a child? Did it influence the person you are now?
The Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Well, it was a series of books. J First, it influenced my love for reading, which in turn influenced my own boys’ love of reading because I enjoyed reading to them so much when they were little.  It (along with my children) also influenced my love for writing in the children’s genres, and it has made me appreciate the blessed life we all lead now.
I used to think I wanted to live the life of Laura. I wanted to teach in a one-room schoolhouse, live out on the prairie, ride on horses and in wagons, do everything in the old ways before we had so many conveniences and luxuries that make everyday chores so much easier now a days.  
When I became an adult, I realized how much harder like was for Laura back then, and I no longer wished for the sheer amount of work just doing a load of laundry or preparing for and cooking a meal or even heating up the water and drawing a bath was for the Ingalls family, but I still wish for the simplicity of life without technology when families spent more time just being together. I do love music, and I have my TV shows and movies I love to watch, but everything in moderation, right?  All the modern conveniences and luxuries have made us lazy at times and have also cut down on the amount of quality time we spend with out loved ones. Instead, we are all preoccupied in our own corners of the house with our electronics instead of playing games together, telling stories, or both. 
I guess this is why it’s so important that we get back to nature, enjoying time outside and telling stories around the campfire. We need to make sure we do these things together as families and friends because we when don’t, we become desensitized to each other and the world in front of us.  It takes away a part of our humanness, our compassion, and our ability to socialize and just be a real piece of each other’s lives.
So, how did the books I read as a child influence me? I’d say they showed me the best parts of life and gave me something to aspire to in my own life.    

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