Jump into a good book

My foray into the world of Harry Potter has ended…again.

At least until the final book is released. For children's book, they are incredibly powerful. I'm often curious why people refuse to even try reading one, people like my husband.

Skeptical that a children's book about make-believe wizards can actually match the reading most people do. Scared to actually let themselves get immersed in a book of "that sort". Afraid to actually let their imagination run wild. To see that growing older doesn't mean that part of your mind has to go away.

That's the best thing about being child. What makes children some of the best people in the world. Their innocence. Their trust in good. Their imagination.

I mean, wasn't life better when you could occupy yourself for hours with a cardboard box and some crayons, or a box of mismatched Legos, or a book and a comfy chair.

It's hard growing older and losing that which I depended on so much during the first decade(s) of my life. Is it wrong to grasp at it? To not want to let it go? Does it mean I'm reluctant to grow up? Yes, but only in fear of losing those great qualities. Does it mean I'm afraid to grow up…that I won't let it happen? No, I know its inevitable. And I very clearly don't want to become one of those people who acts irresponsibly well into my adult life, thinking that stupid mistakes (like those all kids make) are inevitable (because at 30, 40 and 50 its not). But is it wrong to want to grasp and hold on to a few things that will forever keep me in touch with those qualities that make kids so, for lack of a better term, great, so that I may still be able to keep some?

Is it weird that finishing off the current selection of Harry Potter drove me to such deep reflection of myself…

It isn't all about Harry Potter, of course. There's American Girl and PEZ, too. But it all comes down to the same thing, I guess.

Call me crazy, or not, but maybe I'm on to something.