Light in the Wilderness...and Raising Chickens
I just finished reading A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick. I was inspired by the fortitude of the main character, a woman who had been freed from slavery. She fell in love with a "white man" and they secretly married. On the Oregon trail, she had to pretend to be her husband's slave. They both thought it best to do it that way, for her safety. During the exhausting journey, she gave birth to their first child. A few hours after labor, she was walking behind the wagon. I can't imagine doing that, but that's just the way it was. A 5-hour trip with my kids in the car is currently my limit, and I can't imagine giving birth without an epidural, in the comfort of a clean hospital bed, surrounded by medical personnel. This woman has inspired me! Not to travel across the country in a Conestoga wagon, nor to give birth then walk several miles. When they arrived in Oregon, they staked a claim and started a nice little home...