“What delightful things we might do, were it not for Mrs. Harmon Andrews!”

Don’t you wish we could all be as cool as JD? Do you see his pants? There’s a granola bar stuck to his pants. We had a time getting it off of there, but do you know? He didn’t care. It didn’t matter to him what his pants looked like. He isn’t trying to impress anyone.

Just think how much fun we could have if we weren’t trying to impress ANYONE. Oh, don’t even try to say that you AREN’T.  Would you be embarrassed if you’d walked around all day with a granola bar stuck to your pants? 😉

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the Anne’s House of Dreams, by Lucy Maude Montgomery:

“Ah, there’s the rub,” sighed Anne. “There are so many things in life we cannot do because of the fear of what Mrs. Harmon Andrews would say. ` ‘Tis true, ’tis pity, and pity ’tis, ’tis true.’ What delightful things we might do were it not for Mrs. Harmon Andrews!”

That is one small benefit to this home school thing, for the boys. They get to live most days, free of the worries of impressing or shocking their friends.

That is one great disadvantage to home schooling for me. Ha! Plenty of Mrs. Harmon Andrews out there shaking their heads at my choices, I’m sure. Oh, well. We can’t please everyone, now can we? 😉

Although, I have also been pleasantly surprised at how many complete strangers will walk up to me and congratulate me on my “excellent choices on educating my children!” Now that I did not expect, but I do rather enjoy it.

Just one more quote, and then I do have to go feed poor little John David. This one is also Anne talking, in that same book, House of Dreams.:

“But pearls are for tears, the old legend says,” Gilbert had objected.

“I’m not afraid of that. And tears can be happy as well as sad. My very happiest moments have been when I had tears in my eyes– when Marilla told me I might stay at Green Gables–when Matthew gave me the first pretty dress I ever had–when I heard that you were going to recover from the fever. So give me pearls for our troth ring, Gilbert, and I’ll willingly accept the sorrow of life with its joy.”

Ach! That L.M. Montgomery makes me cry every time.

 

 

aprilmomoffour

April is an upbeat, Christian, blog-obsessed, military wife, and home schooling mom of four little boys. She writes about education, travel, and humorous adventures in parenting. Follow along if you’d like a little bit of encouragement and a whole lot of crazy.

View Comments

  • So true! I love those quotes, I may have to pick up Anne again. My little guy doesn't ever seem to care what others think - I often wish I could go through life like that. I have those moments as a mom where another mom will point something out, and I think "oh, should I have been concerned about that . . ." so maybe I do go through life not caring as much sometimes. :P

    • Good for you! I have those moments too, usually about safety concerns that I had just never even thought of! I just love Anne so much. If I could find my collection of books, I'd read them all the time. But I lost them in the last move. :( I still have the kindle version, but it's just not the same.

  • Beautiful! I LOVE "Ann" with an "e", and I love your post. There is so much truth in it :-)

  • J.D. looks so much like Daniel in that picture of the granola bar on his pants! He certainly looks older than 22 months and his hair looks similar to Daniel's! Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

  • Thanks, Carl. I was tracking this untimely death of this handsome, talented actor that played Gilbert so well. :( That is what has gotten me thinking about the Anne series. I should have mentioned that, a side effect of writing in a hurry. ..BTW, I'm one chapter into that arm chair traveler book that you reviewed. :)

  • Awwww, this is so adorable. Hopefully J.D. will always be laid back and carefree. I admire you so much for the values instilled on your children.

    April, if you have ever seen the movie Anne of Green Gables, some sad news. The person who played Gilbert (Jonathon Crombie) died of a brain hemorrhage at 48. All over the news up here in Canada. Noting you are a big Green Gables fan, thought you might want to know.http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/jonathan-crombie-anne-of-green-gables-actor-dead-at-48-1.3038948

    Sorry about the detour. Thank you for sharing. It put a smile on my face.

    ~Carl~

  • How have I never read this book?! There have been plenty of times I have walked around with granola bars stuck to my pants like your sweet boy or the BIG black smear on my bum I wore all last Thursday without knowing about it until dinnertime (sigh). Tis a pity for sure!

    • OH my goodness. All people should be required to read the Anne of Green Gables series. I LOVE it.

  • I have to remind my Littles every morning to change their clothes. I'm afraid if they cared any less what people think, their clothing would begin to walk by itself! lol But I agree wholeheartedly that there is something truly wonderful in not caring what others think. Having worked a lifetime to get beyond it, I am so much more comfortable in my own skin when I don't think about the impression I am making on others.

  • Love it! I have been way too concerned about what other people think for way too long and for me it took moving to the other side of the world to get over it (to a degree). My biggest reason for trying to change is that I don't want my kids to have that worry as it can really take over your life choices! Thanks for sharing and go you and your homeschooling journey - something I am contemplating but haven't committed to - I still have time :)

    • Thank you so much, Donna! I so agree about the life choices. I think we all struggle with this, but there's just no way to please all the people.

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