“Who blazed the Wilderness Trail?”
Sitting in my usual place at the kitchen table, I quietly
sat with the textbook in hand and my head turning from one child to the other.
Peanut sat chewing on the end of her pen, halfway sitting on the chair. Her
mind looked like it was anywhere, but on pioneers heading to Kentucky. Jelly
Bean, though focused, was putting all her efforts into drawing a picture on the
back of her math worksheet. She proudly held it up one hand revealing a drawing
of her holding a can of Sprite. My eyes scanned over to her other hand which
held up the actual can.
“Nobody remembers? We talked about him at the beginning of
the week!” My grumpiness was evident in response to the lack of participation.
I was also not hiding a pounding headache very well. Maybe, I thought, if I didn’t
think I was talking to just myself, I wouldn’t get a headache as often.
Jelly Bean pops up and yells out, “Johnny?” Immediately,
Peanut decides to reinforce this answer with an echo of the same name.
“Don’t you remember?” As I summarized key facts about the
pioneer in question, my mind began to wander. The word pioneer has been a part
of my own understanding since I was a little girl. Studying early American
History is typical in education. Early settlers who left the familiarity of
their old home in search for new opportunities, freedoms, and prospects are the
reason we even have this great country.
People who “risked it all” for a better way of life. People
who had to literally start over from scratch with only the things they could
handle during the move. Some arrived by large ships like the Mayflower. Others
walked on foot or by horse as they traveled westward. As time went on, other
modes of transportation would get people from one point to the other, but the result
was always the same. These people went from point A to point B and started
over.
We are getting ready to start over.
Soon we will pack up what little possessions we have left
and we will travel across the border westward. We will blaze a new trail. Leaving
everyone we know and love, we will venture out into the great unknown. Not
knowing a soul, we will have to make our way to creating a new home. We will
have to stretch out of our comfort zones and meet people.
Certainly the early pioneers faced many challenges. Our
modern day challenges will pale in comparison. Yet, I sat there wishing that I
could feel just a small measure of the bravery they had when they set out on
their journey.
Suddenly, Peanut blurts out, “Daniel Boone!” She begins to
chatter about the cool story we had learned about him tricking Indians who were
trying to attack him.
My focus shifts back to our lesson as I scan over the
questions and I stop at one that perks my interest.
“Okay, what would a man need to have in order to survive in
the wilderness?” I secretly was waiting for smart alec answers like Doritos, chewing
gum, or the iPad.
But instead my girls surprised me.
“An ax.”
“A gun.”
“A knife.”
“Food. Things to cook with.”
I nodded my approval and replied that these were all good
things for them to have. Having all of these items would make it easier to eat,
stay safe, and to set up a camp. I imagine that I would want all these things,
too, if it were me.
Still the idea of packing up and leaving, unaware of what
dangers lurk around, as well as what would be found upon arrival still baffled
me. How could anyone just do that? Their way was so hard. How did they have the
faith to just…go?
Later as I was settling into my evening after a busy day, I looked
at my girls playing with each other. Everyone seemed at peace. As much time as
we all spend together, being together is what we like best. A hopeful reply to
my earlier answer settled in my mind. Family. That is why they could go. Often
times, they went together.
A home isn’t a certain building on a certain street in a
certain city of a certain state. Home is where your people are at. A family
makes a home.
How can I have the faith to just…go? I can because as long
as I have my husband and my daughters, I will always be at home no matter where
the trail takes us.
