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Friday, May 29, 2015

Oh, Baby Zo!

I believe I mentioned earlier that I found Anne of Windy Poplars in a long-neglected diaper bag. Well, I finished it before Zoë was born and even started in on Anne's House of Dreams during the non-stress test I did at the doctor's office a few days before she was born (only to realize that I was impatient and read that book on my kindle so I was just rereading, which wasn't as exciting because I actually wanted to be reading Anne of Ingleside but...it was fine).

Various lines kept jumping out at me, so I put little bookmarks in so that I could find them again (and I did find them and I'm going to share them all). They all seem to share a common theme; it's like I was thinking of babies and "the future" a lot while I was reading this book. I really think that if I could meet L.M. Montgomery that we'd be "kindred spirits." She says things so beautifully and when I read her words—whether in her books or quotes from her journal—I always think, "We could be friends."

Without further ado, here are a few quotes from Anne of Windy Poplars:

"Babies are such fascinating creatures," said Anne dreamily. "They are what I heard somebody at Redmond call 'terrific bundles of potentialities.'" (p. 157)



Thanks for making me cry, Maud. Look at my bundle of potentialities! I'm so in love it hurts!


Don't worry—I also cried when I thanked my visiting teacher for (A) watching the kids while I birthed Zoë and (B) for bringing us dinner and (C) for just being *sob* wonderful (why do you have to moooooooove?). Oh, and I also cried while the kids were watching Happy Feet because Memphis drops his bundle of potentialities on the cold, frozen ground. The horror! And then he takes so long to hatch and... *lip quiver*

Man, these postpartum hormones. I don't know...

Anyway, onto quote #2:

"I've heerd you was a great girl to laugh. Well, I hope it'll last, but I'm afraid it won't. I'm afraid you'll find out all too soon that life's a melancholy business. Ah well, I was young myself once."

"Was you really?" inquired Rebecca Dew sarcastically... "Seems to me you must always have been afraid to be young. It takes courage, I can tell you that, Miss Bugle." (p. 168)



Zoë was a little perplexed about life. Can you blame her? Life is scary! It takes courage to be young. Zoë has been working on finding that courage and she's really relaxed into her role of newborn. So much so that she sometimes even looks peaceful every now and again (usually when her siblings are away).



"[Andrew] darling, don't let's ever be afraid of things. It's such dreadful slavery. Let's be daring and adventurous and expectant. Let's dance to meet life and all it can bring to us, even if it brings us scads of trouble and typhoid and twins!" p. 173



The last words out of his mouth were, "I'm not going to fall asleep, I'm just going to read some of my book." What can I say? The postpartum period is tough on everybody.

"But, oh, [Andrew], no matter how old we get in years to come, don't let's ever see life as all tragedy and revel in it." p. 243



Zoë was a little surprised to learn that she's going to grow up, too! I'm sure she'll learn to revel in life as well.

"I think this road leads right to God," she said dreamily.

"Perhaps," said Anne. "Perhaps all roads do, little [Zoë]." p. 248



"What a fascinating phrase 'globe-trotting' is! A person who would say, 'Let's go to Egypt,' as one might say, 'Let's go to Charlottetown' ... and go!" p. 255

Admittedly I have no picture that quite goes with that quote. I just liked it. Look at my cute baby (she's thinking of all the places she'd like to go, no doubt (also, I don't have to make sense because I just had a baby (neener, neener, neener))):



This next quote also has no tie-in the sentimentality that preceded it. But I thought it was funny:

"Stoutness and slimness seem to be matters of predestination," said Anne. "At all events, Mrs. Harmon Andrews can't say to you what she said to me when I came home from Summerside, 'Well, Anne, you're just about as skinny as ever.' It sounds quite romantic to be 'slender,' but 'skinny' has a very different tang."

I'm sure I laughed out loud over that one. Or at least snickered quietly.

Uh...baby!


I really can't quite get enough of this baby.

1 comment:

  1. The Egypt quote is apropos of you, at least. So not entirely without context.

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