In Brazil a reminder of the toils of old fashioned motherhood

When I was in Brazil this last time I was reminded of what our mothers, grandmothers, and those before them must have gone through before running water and electricity. I don't know how they did it. Their work load was immense and never lessened.

The men had somewhat regular hours – either because of darkness or a need to rest the horses. The women worked from the time their feet hit the floor in...