Nurtured by Nature: Remembering a Back-to-the-Land Childhood

(Page 5 of 5)

December 2008/January 2009
By Liz Stuart 
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I love knowing that my upbringing gives me a worldview different than most. Sometimes I wish I had grown up less sheltered and known more about the outside world, but other times I am grateful I was protected from the bustle and grittiness of life beyond the homestead and our little town. There are still times when my lack of exposure to popular culture embarrasses me, but I’m grateful I had the chance to be a kid and not know too much too early. My childhood years were truly innocent, and the miles of forest and distance from other people gave me more safety than most children are allowed.

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As I look to the future, I know that someday I want to move “back to the land,” where I can’t see any houses or highways from my front porch. I want my children to grow up the way my brother and I did, enjoying the opportunities nature offers and learning to value what they can grow and make with their own hands.

Liz Stuart is a fan of log houses, cycling and excuses to spend more time in her garden. She works at a domestic violence shelter in Portland, Ore.
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  • kevin 1/8/2009 7:13:21 AM

    Wow, Liz, what a beautiful article! I loved it, and I can relate in some ways to how you grew up, as it was similar to how I grew up.

    I hope your dreams for a happy future are all fulfilled, and I thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

    Very best,

    kevin

  • Boomer Harry 12/14/2008 1:28:36 PM

    Thank you Mother Earth News and Liz Stuart
    Truly familiar visions and great memories from this reading.

  • Joeslawn 12/5/2008 11:51:17 PM

    Great article by from all appearances an awesome young lady, just wish there were more people my own age out there that were interested in this type of thing! I'm 25 and living simply!

  • Skye MacLean 11/30/2008 10:48:13 PM

    I really enjoyed the article "Nurtured by Nature: Remembering a Back-to-the-Land Childhood" It brought so many smiles and memories to mind of my own life and how we live- I was reading a portion of the article where she remembered “taking a bath in half of a blue plastic 50-gallon barrel in front of the woodstove in the main room.” I joked to my own teenage girls commenting that at least when we had no hot water and they had to bathe in the 30 gallon water trough, they had some privacy lol. It was nice hearing that someone else other than us felt that bathing this way always felt more fullfilling than just turning on the shower knob. I swear in the end I am cleaner....:) It was refreshing reading about someone else who “gets” the idea of a composting toilet.
    When company comes over and I show them to the sawdust toilet and explain to them how it works and how to use it I am usually met with a blank stare of disbelief or a small uncomfortable giggle while they somehow feel that they must be on candid camera or the butt of a odd joke.
    Reading her stories about the “epic 3 hour game of tag in the moonlight in 2 feet of snow” made me smile recalling some of our own epic games under the moonlight (though usually capture the flag:) lol – my team NEVER wins:)
    I really enjoyed reading Liz's story who knew she was blessed by the simple things in life when she was a kid, "feeling a little nostalgic thinking about washing her hair in a bucket, heating bricks on the woodstove to warm her feet on winter nights, and going outside to get to the toilet." When she wrote “I now know I was blessed to have the privilege of seeing the stars and moon on my way to the bathroom every night of my first 18 years.”
    Not many people understand this way of thinking – it was really inspriring to read about someone who does. Thank you for your story Liz:)
    Sincerely, Skye MacLean

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