the end of an era

Is was back in 2001 when i entered a book shop in Bathurst NSW to purchase a book to read to my seven year old daughter. I had heard alot about this book and thought it would be perfect to cosy up with her and read in the late afternoon's on our holiday which has just begun . . . . . 

we were in Bathurst to celebrate Gadget's graduation,   after the graduation we headed off to Sydney.

this is the actual book we purchased in Bathurst

we sailed out of Sydney Harbour in the late afternoon on the cruise ship "pacific sky", the next day we turned the first page and entered the world of Harry, Ron and Hermoine . . . . .

Miss M reminded me that as i pulled her up onto my lap, i told her "we were going to read a story about a boy named Harry and that Harry was a special boy because he was a Wizard . . . ."

throughout the years Harry, Ron and Hermoine have remained a constant in our lives.

By our  holiday in Thailand in 2005, Miss M was hooked and drove us to insanity until we purchased the "Half blood prince", the book had been released the day before, she had been counting down the days . . . .  and we had to scour the bookshops in Bangkok to find a English version.

she devoured the book in 36 hours with me saying slow down you will have nothing to read on the plane home . . . . She finished the book not long after the plane took off and i spent the remaining hours, reading about Harry as we winged our way back home.

We have seen all the movies together and have read every book soon after it's release .. . . Miss S soon caught up with us and also became a Potter fan.

this morning at three minutes after midninght Miss M, Miss S and i sat down to watch the final episode in the Harry Potter series.  We were surrounded by Harry, Ron, Luna, Dumbledore, Draco and Hermoine look alikes, there was even a couple whom had dressed up as the cupboard under the stairs.

as we watched the movie i could here the faint sobs from my girls as characters they had grown to love, lost their lives. I could hear the cheers as the hero's came through and saved the day . . . . 

despite the early hour it was great and i came home tired but exhilarated.

as i drove Miss S to work this morning i mulled over, the Harry years , and thought about the gift i had given my girls, probably the greatest of gifts you can give anyone . . . .

the gift of reading and the gift of imagination . . . . .

i know that in our household Harry, Ron and Hermoine will live on . . . . . forever . . . . . and  i am now thinking about how much fun it will be to one day, in the hopefully distant future, to share the same gift with my grandchildren . . .

Hope your hands are busy working on a project that you love

Ciao

Patricia