Little House Family Night (sort of)

Carmen update: Carmen is doing much better. Her breathing is fast and she still needs frequent suctioning, but she did not have a fever all day. I have a love/hate relationship with antibiotics. In this instance, I am amazed at how fast they started clearing Carmen’s lungs. I am not so happy that antibiotics contributed to the whole C-diff mess!

Dave went to the doctor today and he also has pneumonia. When it rains it pours around here!

I typed the following in between Lauren being sick and Carmen getting sick. I did not get around to posting it. But, all the effort of trying to have Little House Night deserves a post, so here it is!

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Last week, while Lauren was sick, we tried having a Family Night. Lauren LOVES the Little House on the Prairie book series so she has been asking for a Little House Family Night. (We do edit some comments in the books, particularly negative comments about Native Americans.) Well, with a sick kid, things don’t go too smoothly so our Family Night took 3 days. On day one, Lauren decorated the table with prairie stuff- horses, cowboy hat, an Indian doll, etc. I took pictures of Lauren with her prairie bonnet and Carmen with Indian feathers. On day two, I made cornbread in the cast iron skillet. On day three, Dave read some of Farmer Boy to Lauren. All this was supposed to happen during one Family Night but at least we tried!

Lauren’s nightly bedtime ritual includes Dave or me reading to her. A few weeks ago, Lauren and I were reading Little House on the Prairie. The chapter was about the Indians leaving the prairie. Ma, Pa, Mary and Laura were watching the Indians ride away.

“Then came a mother riding with a baby in a basket on each side of her pony.

Laura looked straight into the bright eyes of the little baby nearer her. Only its small head showed above the basket’s rim. Its hair was as black as a crow and its eyes were black as a night when no stars shine.

Those black eyes looked deep into Laura’s eyes and she looked deep down into the blackness of that little baby’s eyes, and she wanted that one little baby.

‘Pa,’ she said, ‘get me that little Indian baby!’

‘Hush, Laura!’ Pa said sternly.

The little baby was going by. Its head turned and its eyes kept looking into Laura’s eyes.

‘Oh, I want it! I want it!’ Laura begged. The baby was going farther and farther away, but it did not stop looking back at Laura. ‘It wants to stay with me,’ Laura begged. ‘Please, Pa, please!’

‘Hush, Laura,’ Pa said. ‘The Indian woman wants to keep her baby.’

‘Oh, Pa!’ Laura pleaded, and then she began to cry. It was shameful to cry, but she couldn’t help it. The little Indian baby was gone. She knew she would never see it any more.

…’It’s eyes are so black,’ Laura sobbed. She could not say what she meant.”

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After we finished the chapter, Lauren said, “I don’t need an Indian baby.”

I asked, “Why not?”

Lauren simply stated, “I already have one. Carmen.”

Carmen is 100% Mayan Indian.

Here are some pictures from our sort of Little House Family Night!