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Family picnics, the sounds of nature, meals made from scratch, fishing on a Sunday afternoon, less busy schedules and fresh flowers on the table. The more I listen, the more I realize I’m not the only one craving these moments.

Eleanor lived in a time when these experiences were more common. As I spent endless hours fixing up her old farmstead and learning more about her, it ignited the desire to adapt stories of her life within my own family. I wanted to be more intentional with the way I spent my days and create an atmosphere to foster quality conversations with the people I love.

Then I realized, many of our followers showed interest in preserving Eleanor's past, so why not share my own personal journey along with it? To open the conversation on how I am attempting the “simpler life” both at Eleanor’s and in my modern-day life, home, and schedule.

The beauty about this is, we can collaborate as a community because so many of you are living out the areas I am trying to adopt. My hope is, we can learn from each other and no longer dream about days gone by, but instead live them...today!

Eleanor is the inspiration behind this mission, so it’s fitting to recap what we know about her: She worked as a child care provider, telephone operator and school teacher. She was a mother of two and the wife of a farmer.

She was best known for her bountiful vegetable garden, but her real passion was her garden of irises and roses. Living along a well traveled highway, people often stopped to admire her flowers and she was happy for their visit.

Eleanor was a woman of faith and spent weekends opening her home for loved ones to gather, with good food and conversation. She also enjoyed music, both playing guitar and singing. Eleanor lived to be 103 years old.

Boy how I wish I could have stopped by her house on a Sunday afternoon and experienced the hospitality that so many remember her by. I would have learned so much from her. But when I think about it, I already have. This experience has already taught me that, in order to live well, you have to look at your life more intentionally, you have to work hard to create more white space on your calendar, and above all, it is okay to be different than the social norm.

I hope you find value in my discoveries and that you share your wisdom with me as well! Drop me a line at eleanorsevents@yahoo.com or find me on facebook or instagram!

Lara




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