It’s been a long time since I’ve read a young adult novel (other than Harry Potter, which doesn’t count), so when I picked up Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women this week, I was at first taken aback by the rosy, generic moral lessons within it. As I began, I didn’t think I’d have much to ponder, since it’s a reread for me. But I was wrong.
At first the moral lessons were a bit silly to me. For example, when the girls want a holiday week, without any chores, their mother agrees and lets them, knowing they will learn their lesson. Sure enough, by the end of the week, they are ready for chores again! If only lessons are really learned that way.
By the middle, though, I was finding myself relating to the teen angst as the girls began courting and dealing with each other and their life dreams. They plan their “castles in the air” for what they want to be doing in ten years, when they are — get this — between twenty-two and twenty-seven.
What’s your castle in the air for ten years from now? My castle in the air is a four-bedroom house with a fenced-in back yard, a few mature trees, and a few children swinging on a swing set and otherwise playing together. But I’ll go where ever Heavenly Father wants me to be and I’ll accept whatever little blessings he wants to send me (or not send me). I never envisioned Australia, and my life now is essentially my castle in the air. I don’t want my life changed too much. I am very happy.
As I was reading Little Women, I really found myself enjoying the story, as childish and “rosy” as it is. Then, during a scene when a character marries, I had a moment of bizarre realization: I’m not one of them. I’m already married. I have a baby. How am I relating to these girls?
It felt so weird to realize that I’m beyond that stage of life. My life has moved on.
Do you ever have moments when you look at your kid(s) or your job or your degree and wonder how you got there? I know I’ve lived each day to get here, but that moment just seemed out of chronological order. How did I get here already?
By the way, Nancy was the randomly selected winner for Buy Your Friend a Book week.
It is weird that I am where I am today. Right before Rick and I started dating I kept wondering what the heck I was still doing in San Francisco. I wanted to move and try something new but lucky for me I stayed. It is amazing to me that 2 seperate people can grow up in different states but decide to live their lives together, for eternity. We’re lucky we found each other–my husband and I. I wonder where we’ll be in 5 years!
I totally have those moments where I wonder how I got here all the time. I look up to people with three kids as having a busy life totally under control. I look up to people with more than three kids as having big families. Then I realize that *I* have three kids. And shortly I’ll have four kids, then five, then maybe more (no, that’s not an announcement – just the plan). And people look up to me because they think *I* have it together! (Good thing I fooled them!).
In ten years I hope to have another 3 or 4 or maybe more kids and be pretty much done with the child-bearing phase and moved on to the teenage-rearing phase. I hope to own our big new house outright. I hope that house is in Washington or Oregon. I hope my husband has a job that makes him happy and makes us tons of money. I hope my children love me and come to me for advice. I hope I’m as happy as I am now.
Great post. Yes, I think we all have those moments where we think, how did I get here? I never imagined going to BYU, meeting my husband where I did, my husband having his career in UTAH, and having a child 11 months after we were married, etc. But would I trade it? Never. Sometimes I have to let go and say, okay what next? 🙂 Just like the last line in the movie “Dan in Real Life” says, “Plan to be surprised.”
Congrats to Nancy 🙂
I always wonder how I turned out the way I am. There are many times I just wish I could just be a kid 😛 Thankfully, I think I turned out okay. What’s scary, though, is the thought of how to give my (future) children a good education and make sure they turn out well. Hopefully in 10 years, I’m already doing it 🙂
If I’d known I was going to write a dissertation on Middle English, I would not have quit high school Latin. Other than that, I don’t have a lot of regrets, and I think I’m where I hoped to be–just about 20 years before I expected to be here. How did it all happen so fast? Mom
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