Under the Lilacs

    Louisa May Alcott is best remembered for Little Women, and perhaps that was her magnum opus, but she also wrote well over a dozen books and Little Women itself was part of a trilogy.  Under the Lilacs was written in the later years of her life and I vividly remember being given a copy from my school as an end-of-the-school-year gift.  

    Since my grandmother's house was a veritable fairy-tale garden in the summer time, I imagined reading the book while relaxing on a blanket in the shade of her glorious lilac tree.  I even managed to make it out there one day, blanket over my arm and book in hand.  I sat down to read, but after two pages, I was bored--no disrespect to Ms. Alcott.  I was much more interested in the bees and the flowers, and what on earth was up in the maple tree, hmmm, I'd better climb up there and find out.  

   I wasn't much of a reader at that age.  I was a doer.  I know we're all supposed to encourage kids to read, but i'm glad I was free to run wild and do things all summer instead of sitting still to read about the things other people have done.  I still prefer doing to TV watching, and binge watching isn't something I can handle unless I'm engrossed in a project and the tv happens to be on in the background, but I do like to sit and read these days.  I usually have at least two or three books going at a time and I can't think of a better place to enjoy a good read than under the lilacs. 

Shopping Info:  BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL PAULINE GINGHAM DRESS from Collectif.co.uk, Hat from Shein