This was - I think - my least favorite story as a young adult, possibly because this episode of Anne focuses on some of the most adult themes - marriage, motherhood, loss - without the balance of Anne's students or children. Reading this now, I found myself touched by Anne as simply a woman. Anne seemed so content, despite her higher education and literary talents. Some may have felt she is wasted as a mother and housewife, but I've always seen her as not only a product of her time but as a woman with a practically limitless ability to see the good in where she is. Now, women have infinite choice, but we still can't choose everything *shrug, and some things life and circumstances choose for us.

Reread 2020: Again in this one I am struck by Anne’s intergenerational friendships. Many are dictated by proximity, as Miss Cornelia and Captain Jim are two of her closest neighbors. But Anne truly embraces her circumstances wherever she is, and makes friends everywhere. This may in fact be her greatest lesson.