Sunday Afternoon and Books

Right now every member of my family is zonked out but me. It was a rather tough day at church for the kiddos. But now I am enjoying the quiet and a hershey's milk chocolate with Almonds candy bar. I was suppose to use said candy bar in a chocolate cream pie but the candy bar beckoned to me and I have limited will power when growing a baby. The other day I decided to reread Jane Erye. I read it for the first time when I was in 6th or 7th grade and thought it was over rated but now, a hundred years later, I am thoroughly enjoying it. I think I had too little real life experience to really connect with the story. And I think I did not like the fact that Jane was "plain". There you have it my ten year old self was totally superficial. I should also reread To Kill A Mockingbird because when the class read that in 4th grade I disliked Scout because she had short "boy hair". The start of Jane Eyre has been my favorite. It horrifies me when people starve and mistreat children, and yes I know it is only a book, but much much worse things happen all over the world to children. It just makes me feel helpless in a giant sea of suffering. But I have come to the conclusion to try to be as kind as I can and to really listen to the kids I come in contact with because I have no idea what their home life is like. I think that was part of my problem with connecting with Jane Eyre when I was younger- my life was all rainbows and butterfly kisses so I couldn't empathize with starving lonely orphans. What I liked so much about the orphanage years was that one of the abused orphans, who was also dying of consumption (very very Victorian), had a great deal to say about God and the Golden Rule. That we should see each other as God sees us. I have been reading some more modern authors lately and I think that is what I miss in their books, hope.