Sunday, December 11, 2011

My Mother & Anne Shirley

When I was a little girl, I can remember my mom reading to me. We did the usual picture books, of course, but pretty early on, she started reading chapter books as well. I think she wanted me to understand the beauty of words. One of the first books that I remember her reading to me was Anne of Green Gables. I also remember having marathon sessions of the mini-series based on the book that was produced by Kevin Sullivan.

A lot of things from that have stuck with me. My love of red hair, for one. Ever since I've been old enough to do what I want with my hair, there have almost always been at least a few streaks of red in it. Just a random little quirk of mine.

It was this time with my mom that fostered my love of reading. I often feel bad because my younger sister doesn't have as many of these strong memories.

Our mom died in August of 1995 in a car accident. I was 11. My sister wasn't yet 5. Our mother was only 28. I read that book, particularly the last chapters after Anne lost the beloved Matthew, a lot those months after my mom passed.

To this day, when I am feeling particularly low, I pick up one of the Anne books, and not only do I feel like I'm curling up for a chat with an old friend, but I feel closer to my mom too. Maybe it is because I am going to be 28 in just a matter of months, but I want more than ever to forge these types of memories with my own children. I guess that's the reason that Lucy Maud Montgomery's precocious redhead has been so much on my mind of late.

I'm need to get my hands on copies of the movies, but I have the books already. Tomorrow, Kieradyn and I might try out the first chapter tomorrow. Trying to sort out my thoughts, I was inspired to start a Squidoo Lens... something that I thought might help to introduce my 5 year old to the characters that I hope she will grow to love as much as I do. I thought that others might like to see it too. You can visit it HERE.

Feel free to visit my other lenses as well, in case you're curious:

Medieval Weddings Lens

Mobile Text Marketing

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