Nelly. Halfpint. Walnut Grove. Laura. Ingalls. Wilder.

All clues that I’ve been watching re-runs of Little House on the Prairie. My daughter discovered it two days ago, and I’ve been reveling in the memories and joy of reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books and obsessing over every episode and wondering if why that “mean old Nellie” had to be so mean and whether Almonzo would ever see Laura as anything less than a little girl.

I adore Little House on the Prairie for its simplicity. Its plots are no less real or dramatic than any seen in current tv shows. People have health issues. People struggle with jealousy. People struggle with pride. Families struggle financially. But I like the simplicity in that each episode deals with one major issue in an hour setting. There aren’t six sub-plots going on that are left unresolved for the next episode. The issue is resolved, but not necessarily in an unrealistic utopian, “Gee, golly!” kind of way.

Well, the characters do say things like, “Gee, golly,” but I find it endearing. Lexi could watch a marathon of the shows, and I wouldn’t worry about what she was going to see or hear. Take the episode on right now. Laura and her sister nervously attend their first day of school only to be ridiculed by the high-and-mighty- Nellie Oleson who patronizes them for being “country girls” and being “simple.” (Except Nellie plays endless rounds of Ring-around-the Rosie so who’s the simple one?) Today, we would recognize Nellie’s behavior as bullying. We would justify Laura telling the teacher and defending herself. When she discusses it with ma and pa, they remind the girls that we are to “turn the other cheek” and that we are “to treat others as we would like to be treated.” Pa then admonishes Laura not to resort to name-calling or bullying herself. He’s gradually building dignity and character in his children.

So while I enjoyed watching it growing up, I am going to enjoy it even more while watching it through my daughters’ eyes. Oh, and I didn’t tell you the best part about all of this. My husband has been watching with us. My husband-who has scoffed at my love for Little House on the Prairie for as long as I’ve known him- proclaimed that things were different now that he was a parent. He thought the show was too “simple” and “cheesy” and “girly.” See, I know people can change if my “Monday night, Thursday night and Friday night wrestling watching” husband sits through an episode of Little House, nit because I’m making him or to make his daughter happy, but because he wants to find out what the show is all about.
It’s going to be a great year of discovery and learning-pioneer style.

Okay. I’m also a little giddy because after days of being bullied, Laura stands up to Nellie by refusing to play one Ring-around-the Rosie one more time. Nellie responds by pushing Laura down multiple times. Then, Laura, even knowing what her Pa told her, does what we all want to do and pushes Nellie Oleson down in the dirt.

Good for you, Laura! Ummm…oh, Lexi, no that was not a good thing she did. You’re right. She was supposed to treat meanness with kindness and should have walked away. That was the right thing to do because pushing is never an appropriate response.

But…Nellie started it.

What television shows shaped your childhood?