I have been reading David McCoullough’s John Adams with all of my time up here. I’ve been reading it for about 3 months, but this last week or two I’ve really been able to dive in and I’m nearly done. The language of the time is mesmerizing to me. People spoke so formally and matter of factly. The quote in the title of the post was spoken by John Adams while he was in Paris trying to maintain relations with the French during the earliest days of our country. I love reading about the people who lived during the American Revolution. What courage, conviction, and faith they had. Though it was certainly far from all roses. Some of the language between political parties makes today’s rhetoric look tame by comparison.
One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about this book is being able to look into the relationship between John and Abigail Adams via the many letters they wrote to each other. John Adams spent many years in Europe, and a few of those years were spent without Abigail. Further on, when Adams becomes President, he spends time away from her, first at Philadelphia, and then at Washington, DC, once the White House had been completed enough to live in. It makes me think of the relatively short, though seemingly endless, time I’ve been away from Julie and the girls. I don’t wish it to happen again.
I will fly back to Arizona this Friday evening. I hope that Gwenyth remembers me.
How do you like the new Christmas theme?
Brian,
The website looks cool. We miss you just as badly here in the desert. I can’t seem to get to bed until 2 am evey night because I don’t have you calling me to bed.
I am glad you are having a season of reading, sleeping & thinking (without Lucy filling your brain). Someday–soon I would like to have the same season……oh, I woke up–I was definately dreaming.
All of us little ladies are well and good–I think I need to work on my rhetoric a bit. Come home soon–we’ll be waiting for you at the airport!!
all my love,
jij