John Adams

I've been reading John Adams by David McCullough.  At this point in my life, book reading is a binge activity.  I rarely give myself the chance to read because I can think of fifty-six other things I should be doing to keep my house in order.  But when I hit a good book, bathrooms remain uncleaned, floors unmopped, meals get spontaneous, and baskets of laundry to fold start to pile up.  So that seems to be the state of affairs right now.  And I love it.

I stayed up late last night.  I took a between-Conference-sessions nap that killed my ability of going to sleep at a normal time.  So after giving sleep a somewhat-worthy try, I snuck out of Dan's arms when I thought his breathing signaled him being good and out, heard him say, "Be good," meaning "don't stay up too late naughty girl," and grabbed my book and read on the couch until much, much too late.  It brings back to me all the joy of being a little girl reading Anne of Green Gables under the covers.

What had me all caught up last night was the beginnings of the Republican and Federalist parties that really took form as Washington left office.  There was so much intrigue - so much distrust between people, so many silly lies told in partisan newspapers.  And then also there was the threat of war with France.  France had been stealing Americans off merchant ships because France thought America was too close to their enemy Britain.  War fever got whipped up and fear of anything French in America was high.

It was somehow reassuring to know that there really is nothing new under the sun.  That underneath all the craziness of human weakness, there is also a steadiness that keeps us moving forward in a way that we never quite implode like we're sure we will.  Three cheers for a system of government with checks and balances.

But now to get breakfast ready and to do some laundry.