Happy 2017 friends! I enjoyed the break I took over the holidays but am excited to be back sharing my favorite books with you here. Of course our holiday included books, and I can't wait to tell you all about them.
Christmas morning arrived in our house with two copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and I watched my two oldest dive in. I hoped they would love Harry Potter as much as I do. I secretly worried that they might not, and while we don't all have to have the same favorite books, I wanted this series to be one that we share. So I waited and hoped as they picked up their books.
From the first moment they opened their books and started reading, they were pulled into the story. Over break, their books seemed to become an extension of them. The books came everywhere with us. They read in the car. They read while we waited for our meal at a restaurant. When we stopped to get coffee by their favorite store, they asked if I could stay in the car so they could keep reading. They read well past their bedtimes, and I smiled and knew they were young Potter fans.
When I think about my childhood, I have so many wonderful memories of my book friends. As a parent, I hope my children will remember their favorite books and characters as fondly as I do. I traveled to the seashore with the Bobsey twins. I solved mysteries with Nancy Drew. I lived on a farm in Nebraska with Antonia. I traveled by covered wagon and went to a one room school house with Laura Ingalls.
While my children are still in book one, they are already looking forward to book two and talk about the journey they will go on with Harry. I hope someday when they are grown and remembering their childhood, it goes something like this....
We received our Hogwarts acceptance letters. We braved the magical doorway to arrive on platform 9 3/4. We rode the Hogwarts Express and got into Hagrid's boats to finally make it to Hogwarts. We waited for our turn with the sorting hat to determine our house. We were Hogwarts students. Harry, Ron, Hermione and many others are among those we call friends.