Alohomora!

This summer, the boys unlocked the joy and wisdom of the Harry Potter universe. Grant and I were so excited at their enthusiasm for the characters because we have loved these books and have found such great joy reading through them over the years. Both of us have spent August days anxiously waiting for our Amazon boxes to arrive with the latest Harry Potter book inside. There was even one summer when I spent the entire day in a hotel room reading the 7th book from cover to cover (I ordered room service, took a nap, and it seriously was the best day EVER). These books have been so important to us that it is gratifying to see our children like them or, at the very least, embrace the world that is within them. The boys were introduced to Rowling's wizarding world through the new Lego Harry Potter video game that we bought for our trip to Escondido.

Since our vacation, we have spent many a night watching the Harry Potter movies and discussing the many elements of the books. Yes, the boys have picked up the first book and are reading through it, but the books are big (at least after book three they are big), so we see more skimming through the tomes than actual consumption. However, no matter. We still have talked about the themes present in the books: friendship, bravery, wisdom, choices, good vs. evil, and so forth. We have had very meaningful conversations because the books are so rich with examples and details of the many things children (and adults) face in real life (albeit our lives are lacking in real spell casting and the presence of dark wizards). Almost every day, we get peppered with questions about characters or why certain things happen and in which book something occurs. Often Sean will just grab one of the books and skim through it at night, reading the parts that appeal to him. That's fine by us.

Grace has enjoyed this resurgence of interest in the books as well. She started the series when she was in kindergarten, and she had forgotten some of the details of the books. She found the Potter Puppet Pals on YouTube a couple of years ago, and she can quote nearly all the episodes, including "Wizard Swears" and "The Mysterious Ticking Noise." She has enjoyed playing the video game and the new Hogwarts Lego board game that we recently bought. She put the whole thing together and has played several games with her brothers, trying extra hard to be patient with them. It's been fun to watch them all play together with something that they all enjoy.

In addition to our all being able to sing the catchy tune on "The Mysterious Ticking Noise," the best example of how this new obsession has invaded our lives was the sentence I had to utter -- no, I'm sorry, shout -- last night when the boys were having yet another wizard duel in the living room. I've become so complacent about the Harry Potter vernacular that I find myself answering questions about/with Hogwarts terminology: "Well, yes, if you did have a Firebolt, you could do your chores more quickly," or "You have to make a choice. We don't have a Time Turner!" You get the idea. Since this easy shift from real world parlance to wizarding world lingo takes place on a daily basis, it didn't even dawn on me what I was saying until I yelled at the boys last night: "I will not have any killing curses in my house!" when Gavin went straight for the Avada Kedavra on Sean instead of using something more realistic like Stupefy! or Reducto! I mean, really. Unforgivable curses are so illegal.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for allowing us to borrow your creativity so that we can be more creative in our lives. We are indebted to you.