Living the 1860s Dream

I've taken a little bit of a break from the blog...life had settled into a normal pace and I needed a little time to think, reflect, and get over the 3 month hump.  But, here we are....with Thanksgiving behind us (post coming whenever our camera surfaces) and Christmas and New Year's ahead.  And the first quarter of 2014 brings some travel for us and our first visitors from back home!  We're excited about the activities in the next months.

One of the things I've been doing is comparing and contrasting my life now with what life might have been like in the 1860s in frontier Minnesota.

You may or may not know that my hobby is civilian reenacting with The Living History Society of Minnesota.  I'm in a little bit of history withdrawal here, so I signed up to follow a few reenactment Facebook pages and have been planning my next dresses by pinning pictures of originals to my 1860s Pinterest board.

My sweet girls.

That's me in the middle.  None of that white stuff down here!

But...living here has been both the realization of a dream and the death of a dream.  Specifically.....*STAGE WHISPER*....I don't think I actually would have been as great of a prairie housewife as I've always imagined I would be. 

Here in Peru, I've got many more resources and comforts than I would have had on the prairie- namely, running water, a gas stove, a washing machine (cold water only until recently, but Dave got us into the big leagues with hot water), electricity, and of course, the internet.  On the work side, I've got two kids, responsibility for setting up the house, buying food and other household necessities, a "maid-of-all-work" who does most of the routine cleaning (check out the job duties from 1871), and more.  I'm also fortunate enough to have a husband who does most of the cooking and related clean up and takes a goodly share of the childcare duties.  (Thanks for all you do, DP!)

Food Prep area at our group's annual lyceum (learning event)

Cooking area.  Prep, cooking, and clean up takes ALL DAY.

I'm realizing that no matter how you cut it, running a household with two littles is just a ton of work!  And work that isn't of the nature that makes my heart sing.  The introvert in me really appreciates time alone, which is in short supply when you are in a house with other people all the time.  Our house here is great (and bigger than what we probably would have had on the prairie).  But there is always someone around, so you never really get to be alone.

And while I am really, really, ReaLLy thankful for the opportunity we have here, it's just a little bit sad to me to realize that the romanticized prairie life would have been even harder than I already realized.  And I am thankful to live in the modern era, with all the support and comforts it affords.

*Please note, this post is in no way intended to be a commentary on being at home or working outside the home.  I'm very thankful to live in an era where we have options; had I been living during the 1860s I would not have had many options at all.  My post is just a reflection on the fact that living in the past would have been even harder than I realized after all these years of reenacting.  I hope all readers are able to do as they prefer in their own lives and I am also very grateful for the support of family and friends in my own life choices.