Let Us Be Elegant Or Die!

I work on a college campus and this time of year is, um, how shall we say it? Insane.

My own panic at shepherding all my would be graduates through the bureaucratic hoops is only compounded by the rising panic of all the students around me taking finals and submitting dissertations at the absolute last minute.

It probably shouldn’t surprise me (or you) that I’m in the middle of several weeks of insomnia. At first I tried bedtime yoga, baths with lavender, listening to conference talks (oh those sweet soporific tones), and varying degrees of calisthenics — but lately I embraced those night time hours and started reading Little Women. I’ve read it several times before, but not since I was young. It’s one of those long, deceptively simple stories that I wouldn’t make time for in my current stage of life. But, with these untold hours of not sleeping, it’s the perfect thing.

So instead of piling my own words on your head, here are some delicious lines from Louisa May Alcott to brighten your day:

“I do think that families are the most beautiful things in all the world!”— Jo March

“Now and then, in this workaday world, things do happen in the delightful storybook fashion, and what a comfort it is.” — Little Women

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” —Amy March

“Jo had learned that hearts, like flowers, cannot be rudely handled, but must open naturally.” — Little Women

“The humblest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them.” — Little Women

“Be worthy, love, and love will come.” — Little Women

“I like good strong words that mean something.” — Jo March

“Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.” — Little Women

I know you’re busy, but do you have any treasured lines from favorite stories you would like to share to give us all courage to make it through whatever we are trying to make it through?

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