# 023 Of Anne

One of my favourite book series is the Anne of Green Gables books. I’ve read all eight a few times each and the two Chronicles of Avonlea books besides. Each character has grown dear to me, especially Anne, who is my ultimate heroine of all time. I’ve lived and grown with those books; loving every story and corner of Prince Edward Island and I have no doubt that I would feel right at home if I ever go there in the flesh, since I’ve already been there a thousand times otherwise.

I love all the Anne books, none being a particular favourite because they are all a piece of the larger portrait which forms Anne’s life. Each book portrays her at different times in her life, from when she was a lonely orphan first coming to Avonlea until she becomes a mother of seven during war times.

Anne seems as real to me as any other friend of mine, only she lived in a different time. And it was a great gift to be able to travel with her through her passage in life.

I gasped for air with her as she talked nineteen-to-the-dozen on that first buggy cart ride with Matthew back home, cheered for Marilla when she said Anne could stay even though she was unfortunate enough not to be a boy, squirmed with embarrassment when she was told to stand in front of the whole school in shame after the mortifying slate incident with Gilbert, tossed my head in indignation with her when he asked to be friends again, solemnly promised eternal friendship with Diana as she did too, cried along when Matthew died, encouragingly stood in the background while she thought her pupils in her old school, rather apprehensively voyaged with her on her journey to Redmond, felt sorry for poor Gilbert when she turned him down the first time only to realise later that she did love him after all, shot Cupid’s arrows for her many matchmaking schemes, followed the newly-weds to their House Of Dreams, delighted in Captain Jim’s stories as much as she did, trysted with the Blythe children in their Rainbow Valley, laughed at their childish antics as much as Anne did, saw the Piper that only Walter could see, cried quarts and gallons of tears when he died on the battlefield (he was my favourite Anne-kid), chuckled over Susan’s marriage proposal from Whiskers-On-The-Moon, and breathed a sigh of regret and contentment after I read the last page of the Anne series.

Anne, in my opinion is an epitome of womanhood – good, kind, brave, strong, making friends wherever she went, rising above the petty things in life, not afraid of being herself and standing up for what she believed in, treating everybody with the same respect and manner and unconsciously leaving behind a trail of gladness as if she was so, so very happy to be born into this beautiful world of ours.

I hope Lucy Maud Montgomery knew what a legacy she left behind when she penned the Anne stories. I’m sure that there are many others besides me who have been touched and moved by the strength of her heroine.

Here’s to Anne…

p.s to sis : Hey, I decided to include this since you actually read my blog (I'm still waiting for bro to admit to it, then I have to do some serious editting =]) I'm going to include snippets of home news so that you don't get bored and homesick living in that "jail" of yours (inverted commas in case people think you're actually in jail - I wonder what crime you would have had to commit. lol) so home news #1 - tomorrow ma & I going to buy bro's present and I'll probably make a cake too. Sorry can't save it till you come back coz it'll prob rot by then, hahha. So that's about it. Take care and study hard!!