The end of an era

It is the end of an era, and I would be remiss if I didn't post something about Harry Potter today, given the special place those books, movies, and characters have in my heart.

I find myself tearing up a bit as I read other posts on the passing of a great age of anticipation... posts in which people talk about growing up with Harry Potter, the books and the movies, about what sadness they feel at this being the last film, or how the story never really ends...

I was a late comer to Harry Potter... Books 1-4 were already in paperback by the time I picked up "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," but I was immediately hooked. J.K. Rowling's clever plot and emotionally compelling characters stole my heart and my imagination. I found myself wishing that a secret world of wizards really did exist... and hoping that if it did, I was not a muggle! I cried when Dumbledore died... all throughout the 7th book, and also when Rowling shows Neville at St. Mungos with his mentally impaired mother... the deep feeling Rowling conveyed there touched me in a way that not many authors manage to do.

In the past 10 years, I have eagerly awaited the release of each movie and book, gobbled them up with equal relish, wondered what would happen next, grumbled when Hollywood altered details... Harry Potter has been, and will likely continue to be, great fodder for conversations. But we will truly lose that atmosphere of anticipation... we have to learn how to grow up out of that... to look forward to each day because it is a new day... to let anticipation evolve into something more meaningful.

I am a re-reader. I have already re-read the Potter books this year, as I have done in years past and will likely continue to do. Now is the time for a world fixated on anticipation to return and find the rest of the riches that come out of a deeper understanding of the story.

I am sad that after today there will be no new adventures in the world of Harry Potter to look forward to... but I am glad that the story and its characters remain, familiar friends to revisit and enjoy.

A firework fountain on the end of our dock at July 4