Hot. “I didn’t know it could get so hot,” I think as I walk alongside
our covered wagon in the long wagon train. We are going west. Papa said
that when you can see a neighbor’s house from your own doorway, it is
time to move, so we sold the house that Papa had built for Mama when they
were first married, along with all the land that he had worked and slaved on
these many years. We said goodbye to our grandparents and most of our
friends only a few weeks ago, and it is strange to think that we will
never see them again.

The wagon behind ours belongs to my older brother, Ben. Just before we
moved, he had married Rebekah because her family wasn’t moving away with us. She is
my closest friend after Mama and my two sisters, Mary and Beth, who are
one and two years younger than me. Sometimes she walks with us to lighten
their wagon load a little.

Walking in this heat is nearly unbearable, but there is no other
option. The wagon is filled with all the belongings a large family like ours
needs. Besides, Mama has to lie down most of the time with one-year
old William. She is going to have a baby, but Papa hopes to be settled in
the house he is to build before it is born. I pray for her sake
that we will be.

Poor Mama. I know how much she suffers in the jolting wagon. Mama, the
perfect wife and mother, and loved by everyone who knows her. I can’t wait to
be like her in my own home with lots of children, and always a baby around
to love and cuddle.

I have the fabric for my wedding dress in one of our trunks. Mary, Beth
and I together have gotten a large amount of a beautiful pink material with
little flowers that will make beautiful dresses. We cannot hope to get
such nice material again for years. After our weddings, these dresses will
then be used for Sundays until they have been worn out. In the wilderness, a woman
cannot afford a luxury that is only used for one day.

But I am brought back to the present by little Hannah’s tugs on my long
skirts. I pick her up and she lays her hot little head on my shoulder. I
can feel her sweaty hair through her bonnet. Two of my little brothers
start arguing, and Beth tells them to run ahead to David’s wagon and see
who can get back first.

David. He is with his family only three wagons ahead of ours. I
remember the cold fall and winter evenings when he would ride over
and have long talks with Papa, Mama, and me. Ben would join in too if he was
not at Rebekah’s house. Papa wants David to have his own house built before
we are married. I know that our wedding will not be nearly as fancy as
Ben’s was, but I don’t care. After the house is built, he will take me
over to the pastor’s house and a few simple words will be said over us. I
can almost picture it, my small hand in his large, brown one, saying “I
do” and sharing our first kiss. We will go to my parent’s home for a
delicious dinner, then on to our new home.

Meanwhile, we are walking, walking, walking in the heat. I pray for
night when it will be a little cooler, and we will sit around the fire and
sing. Thank God for that!