This weekend we drove up to Pepin, Wisconsin in search of the simple life. Pepin is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House on the Prairie series.

In our overly wired world sometimes it’s essential to disconnect from the screens for a bit and get back to the simple things that bind us together: a family trip, a shared meal, or reading a book together.

Recently we had been reading the Little House on the Prairie books to the kids for their bedtime stories. They are simple books about long past times. But there is something profound in their simplicity.

The kids in the stories could always find happiness even when times were tough. They didn’t need gameboys or Wii’s to be happy. All they needed was the work of preparing a shared family meal or their “Pa” playing the fiddle in the evening.

A really special day would involve a trip into town, but those were few and far between. Much of their time was spent just trying to survive yet they found great happiness in the simple routines of life.

It’s yet another reminder that you don’t need a lot to be happy. It’s really a mindset and an appreciation of what you have.

Especially after seeing the little cabin in Pepin where they lived, you realize they did not have much. And yet, they were probably happier than many people living in mansions today.

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.
-Laura Ingalls Wilder