Eva Aurora: Diary of a Soft-Living Woman

I think my list idea is all played out. I am pretty much done with that now, so I'm going to move on to another format. I may break from it, of course. It's my blog, after all.

I was reading a book called Emily: Diary of a Hard-Worked Woman. It's the actual diary of a woman who was 47 in the year 1890. She had eight children, most of them grown, and was newly divorced and living in Colorado. The diary details her struggles to survive as a single woman with no other income provider than herself. She worked at whatever honest work she could find, mostly cleaning other people's homes (some of whom were nearly as poor as herself) and helping her neighbors when she could. She usually worked 12 to 16 hour days, earning just enough to survive; often she had to take goods in lieu of money. She writes of her belief in God and often asks Him why her life has to be so hard, but she is also grateful for what she does have.

After finishing that book, I sat back and looked at my life. I have a vacuum, a dishwasher, an electric oven and a heated, comfortable house. I have never gone hungry. I can read all the books I want to. My children are healthy and I've never lost any of them to sickness or accident. I have a husband who loves me and our children and who works hard. I have what Emily longed for so much in that year of 1890.

So, in honor of Emily French, I am going to do some diary-style entries. We'll see what format I go with when I'm tired of a diary.