A magical time...

Observations from Harry Potter
-No one should name their child Dudley
-Three-headed dogs should have a more manly name than Fluffy
-Regular spiders are creepy; giant talking spiders with a gazillion babies are terrifying
-The only good Basilisk is a blind, dead Basilisk
-Phoenix tears are handy
-Werewolves are really very nice except for a bad day or two once a month, as a woman I can relate to this
-All girls should move with flourish and produce butterflies when they walk like the girls from Beauxbatons
-Robert Pattinson made a better Cedric than an Edward.
- Goblet of Fire was the last fun HP before they all got dark and really creepy
-"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are. " Truth, Sirius, truth.
-Centaurs are effective in the punishment of Pepto Bismol-wearing, kitten-loving nags
-Brooding white-blonde young men should be avoided at all costs
-Sometimes what appears as the greatest evil can be used for the greatest good...good-bye Albus.
-Magic tents are the bomb...seriously...compact and roomy.
-Witch girls named Luna were hippies in another life.
-Wands are finicky and should not be trusted.
-Oh Severus...what a man will do for the love of a woman...and her son by another man, namely her husband.
-Harry looks good at 35.

There has been much said about the Harry Potter books and movies over the years...especially in Christian circles...most of it not very positive. When the books first came out, my kids were 10, 7 & 5 and they were avid readers. There was and always has been talk of limiting exposure (and outright banning) of the books to protect our children from unsafe and evil influences. It has never been my way. I want my children to know strength in their convictions, and to be discerning in their choices. I never could be with them all the time...screening the movies or television they watch, the music they listen to, where they surf the internet, or the books they read. So when the books came out, I read the first three to them and we talked about what was good, what wasn't and whether they were worth their while to read.

We have all read them...the characters are solid, the storyline full bodied and engaging....I am not a fan of fads and immersion into the storylines...idolization basically. I am just talking about entertainment...Harry Potter is a classic story about the struggle between good and evil. There are parallels to Christianity...though Rowling would deny it...I can see truth there. I am not going to base my theology on the books...but I can see the good.

So thanks Harry, for the entertainment...it has been a literary and cinematic era...one we will continue to enjoy from time to time....

On another note, I watched all eight HP films in the space of 46 hours this weekend...this is why I fill my time with other things the majority of the year...my life would be all books and movies other wise...

After the battle...

I feel like I've been in a war zone for the past six months...horrific battles, near misses, direct hits...nothing that has shaken the basic foundation, but there are minute scars everywhere; pinpricks of pain; shrapnel. Some of them are pretty big, not quite healed, but getting there...who am I kidding, most of them are not yet healed.

I am in a period of reflection...like I'm sitting on the dock watching deep dark clouds roll away and taking stock of the damage, wondering if I am still intact...not wanting to move from the chair...I shiver at the thought of the fight, but see through the clouds that the sun is there...none of it was in vain...





I wonder how veterans stand it....the memory of war...it must be the look in the faces of the loved ones around them, and despite the hurt and scars, there is a joy in the surviving...inexplicable...And in looking at the aftermath you can see the small victories....the sweet spots that the enemy didn't touch, that he can never touch. And there is evidence of your presence in the midst of the flurry...a word you spoke, a hug you gave, a tear offered in compassion, a wisdom that was needed...such small offering amidst the devastion of loss...loss of health, loss of relationship, loss of life, loss of hope...but it was something, some small thing and it might have meant something to just one, even only one...and it makes the battle worth it...every minute.

I love the stillnees of the lake water after the storm, the ray of the sun streaming through the cloud, the gentle drip of moisture from the the tree, the fresh crispness of the air....and I revel in that...it all seems so vivid and new and teaming with possibility....

I don't want another battle anytime soon but I'm sure there will be one...but in the meantime, I'm just going to sit in reflection as these storm clouds roll away and enjoy the sweet moments experienced in the midst of it all...while the wounds begin to heal...