Missing That Box of Books

When I left home, I had to choose which books to take with me and which ones to leave in storage at my folks' place. Some of the books that I read in middle school went into a box which subsequently ... disappeared. Until now, it's been a bit annoying, but nothing more.

Now, as I embark upon the education of my son, I'm realizing that there were a number of "Great Books" in that box: Call of the Wild, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Tom Sawyer, and the Little House on the Prairie books. I also had some that were not on the list: A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, as well as Island of the Blue Dolphins and some others.

In some ways, my missing box is reassuring. As I read The Well-Trained Mind (a book from my recent book-list), and consider all the things the authors suggest are part of a "good" education, and then compare that to the education I have, I feel half-educated. But I am encouraged by the fact that as I read the things that are on the lists of books they suggest, most of them in my free time. I've never analyzed the books the way The Well-Trained Mind suggests, but I have at least read them.

It's a start. If I am to give my Little Monkey a classical education, which I am considering and discussing with his Dad, feeling like I have a start is an important thing. The schedule they suggest in The Well-Trained Mind is rigorous. I feel somewhat inadequate to the task: I've always been a bit flighty. I struggle to keep to a schedule. I struggle to maintain staying power in my projects. On the one hand, it's an incredible opportunity for improving myself to make this happen for my son. There are also a number of years until he needs to begin formal schooling, and at this point it's as simple as making sure to read to him every day. We'll add other elements a little at a time when the time comes. I don't have to "eat the elephant" all at once. On the other hand, if I mess this up, it's my SON who pays the price.

But is the price he pays any less if I allow myself to be intimidated out of what appears at first reading to be the best system that I've come across yet?

Either way, it's very likely that some of those books will be replaced if I don't manage to find them. As they've been missing for about 10 years, I suspect that I'll be visiting my local bookstore.