The End of an Era

I remember walking out of the book fair at Desert Gardens Elementary School with Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. I didn't like books about witches and wizards and dragons but my arch nemisis was reading them and thus I had to be up to date. I finished the first two books in three days and it killed me that I couldn't go out on Sunday to buy the 3rd. You better believe that as soon as Costco was open on Monday morning I made sure I was there with my mom. I got the 4th book at midnight at 5th Avenue Books in El Centro. The 5th book came out the day after my oldest brother left for his mission and I can't begin to describe the comfort it brought. I have memories of sitting in the Juniper lobby after the 6th book came out talking about whether Snape really was good or not. And then the last book came out. It came out the day I was supposed to drive to Santa Barbara from Cedar for EFY and I took a day off my Cedar job to get to Santa Barbara a day early so I could have all weekend to read before EFY. I got to the prologue right as the fireside started and afterwards I just couldn't read it. I couldn't let the end happen. I waited a week to read the prologue. And when it was over, I knew I still had years to come with the movies.

This past weekend the last movie came out in the Harry Potter Series and it was a a bitter sweet moment. The last part of a story that defined my childhood coming out the summer I graduate college, kind of poetic right? It was a beautiful cinematic experience. That moment that Professor McGonagall starts arming the castle? Chills all over my body and tears welling in my eyes. Some other thoughts about the movie:

-Draco's mom? So tender. I love the overall theme of great mothers in general throughout the series. The love of Harry's mom being what saved him? Mrs Weasley is the ultimate mom, I would love to be her when I grow up.

-The sweet guards that come alive at the end? Were those in the book?

-Neville Longbottom, I am IN LOVE with him!!! Is it too much for my first son's name to be Neville?

-Ginny Weasley as a grownup reminds a lot of Dana Savage.

-Coincidence that Harry's initials are HP? I think not.

-I've always loved the message of good vs evil that this series has taught people and I was reading other people's thoughts online. Someone brought up that the name of Kings Cross Station might be a Christianity reference. So that last scene between Dumbledore and Harry in the glowing white Kings Cross Station had a little more depth the second time.

Because yes I have seen it twice in the last 5 days since it's been out.