Thomas Jefferson's schedule that I wrote about yesterday got me thinking and basically decided for me that I should stop whining about how I wish I knew how to draw and just bite the bullet and learn with my kids, something we can do for fun every day together. I am sure that little Patsy Jefferson, practicing between 1 and 3 hours a day, must have been quite the accomplished artist. Well, nothing less will do for my kids, of course. (she says facetiously).
One of my favorite sections of Pride and Prejudice is when Elizabeth and Darcy are discussing what makes up an accomplished young woman. I'm not looking at the passage right now, but it's something like a working knowledge of a minimum of four languages, mastery of several instruments, running a household of thirty servants, sewing and embroidery skills, and ability to draw and paint to boot. Oh, dancing I'm sure is on the list as well. Lizzy tells Darcy, "With such a high standard it's a wonder any such woman even exists at all." Not an exact quote. Oh, how I love they way Austen writes; much less so the way I butcher her words. Clearly Lizzy had never met Patsy Jefferson, though an educated man like Darcy may have, and perhaps she was the inspiration for his list of accomplishments.
Well, my children will never know Latin, at least not if any effort on my behalf is necessary to make it happen, nor am I putting much emphasis on foreign languages in general. Since they, and I, have a limited amount of time every day, namely 24 hours, just like everybody else, I have decided to pick my battles. They're not battles, of course, but rather selective choosing of what abilities will benefit them the most for the rest of their life. The main extracurricular activity I (we)'ve chosen is music, at least one of the items on Darcy's list of things that make up an accomplished young woman. Well, I suppose now we can one day add drawing to that list of accomplishments, if Gideon and I can stick with it. The second picture is our test drawing, sort of a before and after picture that we're supposed to draw so we can see the great leaps of improvement we make over the next thirty days. You can probably tell that my son is already vastly outshining me before we have even gotten started, but I'm determined that drawing daily I, and we, will. I hope Darcy and Jefferson would, were they so able, look upon me and the way I am raising my children and not think I am a total clod. Oh, dear, clod. I'm certain Jane Austen would never use such a clunky word.
