This semester I had our teenage son read Little Women, which may sound weird but believe me, it was easier than trying to make another teenage son of ours get through Jane Austin's Emma!
Now, that was agony. LOL
Little Women has some great moral lessons for guys, as well as girls.
I love these passages so much.
They refer to Laurie (the young Mr.Laurence) and the influence the four admiring girls next-door and the love of their mother had for keeping him from temptation when he was away at school and then abroad in Europe.
"A universal favorite, thanks to money, manners, much talent, and the kindest heart that ever got is owner into scrapes by trying to get other people out of them, he stood in great danger of being spoilet, and probably would have been like any other promising boy, if he had not possessed a talisman against evil in the memory of the kind old man who was bound up in his success,
the motherly friend who watched over him as if he were her son, and last, but not least by any means, the knowledge that four innocent girls loved, admired and believed in him with all their hearts."
"Now, if ever, occurred an eligible opportunity for 'going to the devil,' as he once forcibly expressed it, for he had plenty of money and nothing to do, and Satan is proverbially fond of providing employment for full and idle hands. The poor fellow had temptations enough from without and from within, but he withstood them pretty well; for, much as he valued liberty, he valued good faith and
confidence more, so his promise to his grandfather, and his desire to be able to look honestly into the eyes of the women who loved him, and say "All's well," kept him safe and steady."
Today, our teenage son got on a plane to spend the summer in CA with his brother and his best friend.
As he hugged me goodbye,
he said "I will come back and tell you that all is well, Mom."
And I said, "Great." It was early and he could see that I didn't get it.
Then he said "Like Laurie, Mom! Don't you remember!?!"
AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I squealed, hugged him again and kissed his cheek and told him how much
I LOVED that he remembered this! What a sweetheart!
"'Here I am Mother! Yes, it's all right.' The last words were in answer to the look the elder lady gave him; a kindly questioning look , which the handsome eyes met so frankly that the little ceremony closed, as usual, with a motherly kiss."
~Becky
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