On Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy

“It takes so little to make a child happy, that it is a pity is a world full of sunshine and pleasant things, that there should be any wistful faces, empty hands or lonely little hearts.” --Louisa May Alcott in “Little Men”

Perhaps it is the hormones from pregnancy, but I delighting in Louisa May Alcott these days. I realized that I had never read her (except in a vain attempt to read chapter books when I was too little), and as my mother semi-named me after the character “Beth” I thought I had rather dig into the old, worn copy at my parent’s house this Christmas.

Now this week it was onto the Jr. Section at the local library to get “Little Men” and “Jo’s Boys.” And I am finding there is quite a bit of excellent parenting and education jewels tucked away in these children’s chapters. Her writing is so full of blatant moral lessons and she doesn’t try in the least to be conspicuous in the lessons she is giving the readers. I am finding this refreshing and today felt like I was taking a bath in good old-fashioned morals; maybe it was just the shower of tears that I often find wandering down my sentimental face.

I keep teasing my husband that I’m ditching the Greek plan, and we are going to start a boy’s home in Kansas instead. My parent’s house really should be turned into an orphanage type place as it is very spacious and has lots of land in which things like horses and gardens could be invested in, and of course my husband could teach them mathematics and Greek! Two foundational aspects of a child’s education, right?

Well, I didn't write about the title of this post, but perhaps later :).