Bed Rest

Ironically, while working on this novel, I have now been placed on bed rest while awaiting (and trying to hold back) the arrival of my third child. I find this especially interesting as I have been re-reading the novel keeping in my mind to not avoid the story of Bitsy, the sister who is put on bed rest quite frequently following any emotional "episodes".

Lying here on my couch in the middle of the family room, the hub of my house and family life, I am surrounded by stimulation. I have the laptop on my legs as I type away, several windows open to let in the spring's cool air and sounds, I have the Bible and a novel to my side, along with phones in reach, even a remote for a television if I should be so inclined. I get to eat, well, anything that does not send me into contractions and that I do not fix myself (I do miss cooking and baking!) and my husband nearby in case I need anything. My three-year-old is a constant frenzy of motion during the day and we read, play board games, and practice numbers, sounds to letters, etc. Containing her would be nearly impossible, but directing is fun. Visitors come and go, mostly wonderful church family making sure we have help meals or help caring for me and my little one when my husband has duties outside the home. In the afternoons, my nearly-six-year-old brings home stories from kindergarten, homework, and runs off to help her sister enjoy the last part of the day, keeping me entertained with their imaginary play, or busy helping them "make better choices" in how they play with one another. :)

Bitsy lives in quite a different "bed resting world". She is confined to her room with limited visitors, her twin seven-year-olds only visiting briefly each day, afraid of her mood swings. She is kept sedate by the lack of taste, color, and intellectual stimulation, not even allowed to read during prescribed bed rest. What thinking woman would not go crazy? She looks out her windows only when getting better, and then gets to venture out of her room until she has another episode. With the anxious fear of having another episode, how can she stop the cycle? Without the freedom to think and reach for something better, how can she break out? And what of her sweet children or husband? How can they do without her? She can give them nothing consistent as long as she keeps getting shut away.

I knew it would be difficult to tell her part of the story, but I am learning, and the more I think through her circumstances, the more I belive her family is at loss until she can get well.

Historical frustrations

After a few weeks of not blogging, here I am blogging for the third time in a little over 24 hours. The cause of the this third entry? Frustration! Though I try to keep my blogs even-tempered and professional, this one will be an exception. Reason? Follow:
After my interview with a Morehead City historian, I felt I had a good grasp on the schooling system of the time. I also did a bit further research on my own and thought I was well-grounded in how I was portraying the schools in Morehead during 1886. However, I have now come across a very old map, thanks to the archives of UNC, dated 1885 which seems to contradict what my historian told me; namely, that the two churches in town, Methodist and Baptist, would have had their own separate schools. The wealthier Methodist members would have a longer school term, while the Baptist school would have a shorter one due to the working class members. Also, I thought that the churches would be on opposite sides of town, the Baptist appealing to those who "work the waters" in the Promiseland, as it was called. Now, I will not say that my historian told me the churches were located there, I believe I inferred that, knowing I would soon be receiving a map from him from the era. Unfortunately, we have had a host of emailing issues, my server will not connect with his, and so I will have to figure out another way to contact him to unknot this historical tangle.
Could I be looking at the map wrong? Is there some other reason that a schoolhouse exists across the street from the Methodist church and just a few buildings away from the Baptist church? It seems illogical for two schools to be so close together without sharing the facility, but ... Perhaps the Methodists had enough money to create a separate building for their school, but the Baptists still had their school inside their church building.
This may not seem very important to anyone, but it is quite pivotal to the plotline as one of the characters is using an opportunity to teach at the opposite school to ensure her independence. I realize having done even more research on the do's and don'ts of the time for ladies, especially single women, that part of her departure and storyline must be modified, but I think with a little work I can maintain the intergrity of the story.
AH! This makes me feel like I am working with a very uncooperative character in a book, one that will only do what he or she wants whether or not it hurts or hinders anyone else. So the historical setting is a difficult, strong-willed, brick wall character? I suppose that makes sense, after all, things happened one way, I just wish I didn't keep running into different versions of how things were. I suppose after I finish researching I will just have to deduce to the best of my ability as to how it really played out and write the story as honestly as I can from there. Does any of this make any sense?
Also, I have tried to enable the comment section in hopes that someone will provide feedback on my posts. I hope you are reading this, and will try to be more professional, less frustrated in the future.