"There's no great loss without some small gain." Part II

My dear family, in Laura & Almanzo's front yard, Rocky Ridge Farm, Missouri

Now that we had returned to Oklahoma after a bittersweet segue to Michigan, we planned to enjoy a shorter road trip to the home of Laura and Almanzo Wilder in Mansfield, Missouri. I've quoted Ma Ingalls in my last blog because she's been on my mind lately, since we are reading On the Banks of Plum Creek as a family each night (alternated by Eric reading Prince Caspian.)

Caroline Ingalls intrepidly battled fear and famine in the isolated, cramped quarters of a dugout, an underground house. I can't help but look at her example and wonder if I would have been able to thrive in her circumstances when I struggle to be content in my cushy one-bedroom apartment on base. I may be a bit cramped, but I certainly am not isolated. And seriously, I have air conditioning! And free washers & dryers! I'm still spoiled beyond what my pioneer heroes would have believed.

I've been bugging Eric for this trip since I knew we would be in Oklahoma and he was very sweet about keeping the kids occupied so I could pour over ever detail of the museum and grounds. There was a little walking involved, and lots of neat details, my favorite being Pa's fiddle, which is practically a character itself in the Little House series.

This trip to the tiny town of Mansfield would have to be one of the "small gain" I have reaped from the loss of my home and comfort in Florida. As one friend put it, "If you gotta move several thousand miles away, make it a huge field trip, that's what I say."

Another treat for our family was staying in a cozy cabin at Mansfield Woods with all the amenities except TV and Internet! We weren't camping but you would have thought that we were really roughing it! "What, no Wii???" After exploring the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum, we made our first ever family campfire (without the Gavilan boys' help) near the cabin and made S'mores.

The next morning we explored Hicks Cave, where Rose Wilder reportedly had to be rescued. The girls really loved this cave. It was such a beautiful, "untouched" place, unlike the only other cave they've explored at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM. Eric led this expedition because I wanted to stay out and journal, so they went as far as they could until immersion was unavoidable. Too bad we didn't have any more change of clothes, or they might have gone farther!

My adventurers! Hicks Cave, Missouri

Maybe these city kids will learn to survive in the wilderness of Alaska! We sure are going to have fun trying! This summer's planned and unplanned trips are certainly teaching us flexibility and resilience.