Living in the moment

Last week I came home from school and what did I find: the door unlocked, Abby nowhere to be found...until I look out the window; low and behold, this is what I see:

Yup, that's Abby reading herself into a novel. This time it's Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. She's wearing her most Mansfield Park-ish dress, picking wild flowers, and enjoying her book whilst strolling though the surrounding gardens of our estate (rather...shabby apartments). Does this surprise me? Not in the least. I was first introduced to this adorable idiosyncrasy while she was re-reading (for the hundredth time) a series from her childhood; Little House on the Prairie. Apparently there's a chapter where "Pa" finds wild honey. Of course I come home to Abby curled up on the couch licking honey with her nose in the book. Odd? Maybe. Endearing? Absolutely.