I have been absent from the Rose household every night this week. Monday night was my opportunity to watch the Oscar telecast courtesy of my friend Jamie and her TiVo, Tuesday night I did a speaking engagement at Eckerd College, and last night was another installment of Club Kimono, the righteous women's group that I am blessed to host. While all of these activities were a lot of fun, I really missed spending time with my fam. Hubby and Daughter did just fine without me, but all three of us yearned for our nightly read of Harry Potter.
We are now a third of the way through reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Emma is totally hooked on the literary heroin J.K. Rowling so adeptly administers. Tonight's chapter is where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the kiddies jump aboard the magical Hogwarts Express train to begin their fourth year at Hogwarts. Since I am the only one who has already read the book and seen the movie, I get all squirmy when I know what's about to happen! Harry has turned 14 and I've started to develop a wee bit of a crush on him and his Quidditch pals. Cedric Diggory...Victor Krum...The Weasley Twins...
However, the best part of our wizardry readings isn't what is found within the pages; it's what happens in our living room chair. When one of us declares that it is "Time for HP", Emma immediately calls dibs on me. "I call sitting next to Mom the whole time!" She and I squeeze ourselves into our favorite chair and wrap our arms around each other. When we listen to Michael read his portion, we unconsciously twiddle each other's fingers and rub each other's tootsies. When we laugh or get scared, we immediately look at each other for nonverbal confirmation. The HP Time with EmmaBean is truly one of the most precious things in my life.
When it's my turn to read, I pull out all of the stops. I use different dramatic British accents for each character, use sweeping hand gestures, speak in a near-whisper for the super-tense parts, and occasionally accentuate the action with appropriate sound effects. WHAM!!! SLAM!!!! POW!!!! EEEKK!!!! My daughter is mesmerized by my enthusiastic performance, and I eat up her praise like fine dark chocolate. I have read about Griffindor, Quidditch, Privet Drive, and You-Know-Who countless times, but it never gets old. Each time I am handed the book to read, my little Hermione-in-training firmly instructs me to "Make it really dramatic, Mama!"
I will, Em. I promise.
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For your consideration and/or comment:
What is your favorite Harry Potter character and why?
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