100 years of Anne

2008 will mark the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Anne of Green Gables, LM Montgomery's beloved book about the mischevious red-headed orphan, Anne Shirley. In celebration of the anniversary, my best friend Bethany and I are planning a trip to Prince Edward Island to do all things "Anne" next July. I got so excited thinking about the trip, that I just had to reread the books! And although I've read them numerous times during childhood, the last time was over 10 years ago.

My brother and husband can attest to how much I truly love Anne...

At a game night, the trivia question was, "What was the name of Anne Shirley's love interest?" And yes, because my brother had watched the movies numerous times with me throughout our childhood, he answered without hesitation, "Gilbert Blythe," much to the amazement of his teammates.

My husband is consistently amazed at how I love to "watch" the Anne movies while I clean...in truth, I don't actually watch the movie; I simply press play and turn it up loud so that I can hear it all throughout the house. I've watched it SO many times before that I know exactly what's going on in every scene simply from the dialogue and music.

But back to the books... These books are like good friends - they've become a part of me and have helped shape who I am. Anne's misadventures, insecurities and hopes all resonate with the little girl/woman in me, trying to figure out what it means to love and be loved, to not let go of my ideals and to learn from my ("many though not repeated") mistakes.

I am the type of person who reads at almost every chance - in a restaurant by myself, on the elevator, at a red light - which has left me open to many suspicious stares and awkward glances as I literally laugh out loud while Anne snubs Gilbert's offer of a strawberry apple, dyes her hair green and forgets to put flour in a cake.

So in tribute to Anne, here are just a few of my favorite parts:

Regarding vanity...

" 'But just now I feel pretty nearly perfectly happy. I can't feel exaclty perfectly happy because - well, what color would you call this?'

...Matthew was not used to deciding on the tints of ladies' tresses, but in this case there couldn't be much doubt.

'It's red, ain't it?' he said.

The girl let the braid drop back with a sigh that seemed to come from her very toes and to exhale forth all the sorrow of the ages.

'Yes, it's red,' she said resignedly. 'Now you see why I can't be perfectly happy...'"

Regarding love...

"Once, when no one was looking, Gilbert took from his desk a little pink candy heart with a gold motto on it, 'You are sweet,' and slipped it under the curve of Anne's arm. Whereupon Anne arose, took the pink heart gingerly between the tips of her fingers, dropped it on the floor, ground it to powder beneath her heel, and resumed her position without deigning to bestow a glance on Gilbert."

Regarding fashion...

"...she felt very miserable; every other little girl in the class had puffed sleeves. Anne felt that life was really not worth living without puffed sleeves."

Here's to 100 years of Anne!