Saturday, January 4, 2014

Backward with Christine DePetrillo

I often feel as if I’m in the wrong time period. I watch television shows like Little House on the Prairie and Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman and totally think I could survive that lifestyle. Wake up with the sun, work outdoors, bake things from scratch, teach children in a one-room school house. I wouldn’t mind twisting my hair into a long braid and calling it good. Simple dresses out of plain fabric wouldn’t bother me either. I have FDD anyway—Fashion-Deficit Disorder—so the less choices I have, the better.

I’d be fine mucking out horse stalls, gathering eggs from a chicken coop, milking cows, and farming. Just don’t ask me to kill one of those chickens for dinner though. Knowing me, I would have named them all and they’d no longer fall into the “food” category. That’s fine though, I don’t need to eat meat. I’d have plenty of veggies growing on my farm to eat well and eat often. Plus, there’d be all that freshly baked bread to chow down on too. The beauty of it is that I could consume all that bread and not worry about seeing poundage added to the waistline, because I’d be on my feet all day, every day doing the daily chores. I wouldn’t be sitting on a couch zoning out in front of the television or slipping into a coma surfing the internet.

I’d be active and fit…and so would all the males in my cozy town. Hmm. Think of it—sturdy, cowboy/farmer types who spend each day hauling heavy loads, taming wild mustangs, building barns from wood they’ve milled themselves. Insert dreamy sigh right here, ladies. I don’t recall seeing a ton of out-of-shape people on Little House or Doctor Quinn. Nope. That sort of lifestyle produces muscles and muscles should always be properly appreciated.

Maybe I’ve lived in this time period in a past life and that’s why I feel so connected to it. Possibly I’m remembering a previous life on the prairie out in the west. Perhaps I had my very own sexy frontier man who could wield an ax and split wood for the fire as if he were born to do that very thing.
 
In any event, I think I could give up the inventions I depend on right now and live a life that focuses on the simple things. What about you? Could you go backward in time and like it? Which time period would you go to?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christymajor.weebly.com YA Romance

8 comments:

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

I could go back in time until it came time to go to the "necessary." Outhouses and chamber pots are not my thing. Nope...not at all. But handsome, fit guys? Oh yeah.

Jannine Gallant said...

I wanted to be Laura Ingalls when I was a girl. I'm right there with you, Chris, drawn to the western settlement stage of our history. I could do it--toss modern conveniences. I don't even have a cell phone. Who's with us? Where's that time machine? LOL

Margo Hoornstra said...

I'd go in a heartbeat. But, I'm with Vonnie. Indoor plumbing would be a must. Doing with out all the electronics would be nice.

Betsy Ashton said...

Nope. No way. No how. I've already lived with no running water, outhouses, hauling water, etc. We had electricity, but no air conditioning in the desert. No matter what they say. Hot is just plain hot, humidity or not. And working all day? Did that when I worked on a ranch. Sure I was skinny. My horse was well muscled. But I was too tired to glance at the hunks who rode beside me. I was too busy dodging streams of tobacco juice. Not as romantic as it sounds in the pages of a book. I'll escape in your fictional accounts from the comfort of my couch and fireplace...

Alicia Dean said...

No, no, no. I do not want to live without conveniences or muck out stalls or work hard from sunup to sundown. But I wouldn't mind a roll in the hay with Charles Ingalls ;-)

If I could go back in time, it would probably be to the 50's. I've always been enthralled with that time period, whether it's the rough, tough WestSide Story and Rebel Without a Cause portrayal, or the Leave it to Beaver stuff. I love it all. Of course, mostly, I love that it's when Elvis was young and getting his start.

Interesting post, thanks for presenting the topic!

Diane Burton said...

It's funny that the first thing that entered most of our minds was not wanting to give up indoor plumbing. When I visited my grandparents' farm as a child, I hated the outhouse. Scary place. And stinky. I wonder if guys would have the same first thought about living in the past.

Leah St. James said...

I was with you until you started mucking out stalls...then I was back with you with the cowboys. :-) Sometimes I too wish for simpler times. Too bad we couldn't get that simplicity without giving up our conveniences.

Leah St. James said...
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