How I Spent My Summer Vacation

How I spent my summer vacation...

Do you remember having to write that essay on the first day of school?

I spent my vacation rediscovering the joy of writing. Writing makes me so happy. For as long as I can remember ideas and thoughts have bounced around in my brain like the old Pong game. They take up so much space I have no choice but to sit down and write.

My mind is often going faster than my hand, but I scribble furiously. In a few minutes I feel calmer, and my breathing slows as the words pour out. Journaling often leads to my blog entry.

The other day I was trying to describe this process to someone, but it was difficult. Then I remembered the pensieve described in Harry Potter. Dumbledore's device extracted memories that could later be relived by immersing your head in the pensieve. I always felt that J.K. Rowling was giving us the perfect description of the writing process.

We carefully pull memories of what we have seen, heard, experienced or imagined and we put it down on a page. If we do it well, someone else can dive into your writing and relive the moment.

I can go back and read old journals of mine and be transported back to that time, that place. It is magical; it's sometimes painful, but there is a joy within that pain. I'm thrilled that I was able to capture a memory with clarity.

This summer vacation I found my voice, and I found myself.

Goodbye Harry...

Unless you've been under a rock, the last Harry Potter movie has been released.

I have been both eagerly anticipating and dreading the end of this magical tale because it's not just goodbye to the series, but a lingering goodbye to my son's childhood.

Harry and Scott grew up together. When Harry discovered he was a wizard, he and my son were the same tender age. We anticipated each new book's summer release as eagerly as Harry awaited his return to Hogwarts School.

When his brother turned six, Scott could not wait to introduce him to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Each morning, Scott would read aloud to his brother as we traveled to school. I enjoyed the read aloud almost as much as his brother.

We had to share "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince." Scott would keep the book with him during the day, and I would read it at night after he went to bed. When he finally discovered I was reading it too, he made me promise not to read past him. I got so caught up in the story that I finished the book three days ahead of him and never breathed a word.

We have always gone to see the Harry Potter movies together. When Scott went away to college, we planned our premiere of the each movie to coincide with his visit home.

It's fitting that Harry's final chapter is coming two weeks after Scott turned 21. They both reached the end of childhood together.