by
Helen DeWitt
My admirer says that’s wonderful & that it’s so important for small children to have a sense of achievement, & then drawing me slightly aside says that all the same it’s important to keep a sense of proportion, one needs to strike a balance, dangerous to carry things to extremes, moderation in all things, not that she means to interfere.
By the looks of things I have about three days’ grace before I start teaching Japanese to a child with no sense of proportion whatsoever.