Saturday has arrived, and here I sit at my computer, bleary-eyed from another sleepless night while our resident owl merrily disrupts my beauty sleep yet again.  This morning my backyard is full of really strange footprints, and I do mean strange.  And I live in the middle of town!  Evidently we have more wildlife than we realized because little tracks are everywhere, running from under our deck, through my garden and into the arbor vitae.  I wonder if 'my' owl has anything to do with these new tracks?  

At times like these, when am I tired and really not up for much of anything, I love turning to one of my favorite things...my childhood books.  There is such a comfort in re-reading a story that is familiar and you know has a happy ending, so you don't have to be nervous about how things work out for the heroine.  There is certainly a time and place for all the wonderful new books that are out there, but sometimes the best thing is to curl up with an old favorite book that feels so right in your hands, sip a cup of tea and escape back to an earlier time (both the book's and your own!).

One of my all time favorite books is the beloved Daddy Long Legs, by Jean Webster.  It's a sweet and funny story about an orphan, Jerusha Abbott, who is unexpectedly given the opportunity to attend college by an anonymous trustee of the orphanage, who thought her irreverent school essay about her experiences at the orphanage might lead to a career in writing.  She heads off to school as an aspiring author, changing her name to Judy along the way and changing the lives of the friends she makes with her zest for life and appreciation of the marvelous gift she's been given.  How can you not love a girl who exclaims “It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh--I really think that requires spirit.”  And then, of course, there is that mysterious anonymous trustee, whom she affectionately calls Daddy Long Legs because all she knows about him is that he is very, very tall. Who is he and what part does he play in her life?  I won't reveal more, but if you've never read DDL and its sequel, Dear Enemy, you won't be disappointed! 

Don't you just love the covers of old books?  Here's my copy of Daddy Long Legs, which I have read more times than I can remember.  I somehow romantically thought that my college adventures would echo Judy's, but college in the 70's was a far cry from what Judy and her pals experienced! Oh well, that's one of the reasons I love good stories--it gives us the chance to live vicariously through the characters!

 

 

Here's a great bit of wisdom from young Judy, maybe something we should all remember now and then...

 

“I've discovered the true secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the now. Not to be for ever regretting the past, or anticipating the future; but to get the most that you can out of this very instant...I'm going to enjoy every second, and I'm going to know I'm enjoying it while I'm enjoying it. ” 

 

And because not only do I love old books but also poetry, here is a fun little poem about the insect of the day, written by one of my favorite poets, Ted Kooser.  I'm linking today's post over at Mockingbird Hill Cottage so that you will have the opportunity to learn about other women's favorite things as well.  Enjoy!

 

Daddy Longlegs

by Ted Kooser 

Here, on fine long legs springy as steel,

a life rides, sealed in a small brown pill

that skims along over the basement floor

wrapped up in a simple obsession.

Eight legs reach out like the master ribs

of a web in which some thought is caught

dead center in its own small world,

a thought so far from the touch of things

that we can only guess at it. If mine,

it would be the secret dream

of walking alone across the floor of my life

with an easy grace, and with love enough

to live on at the center of myself.

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