The end of an era...

Last night marked the end of an era for me and for many other people. Some might think we are silly. Some might say too much is made of this. I don't care. I took a nap from about 10pm to midnight. Tim quietly asked me if I was going to get under the covers around midnight. I woke up and looked at the clock. Then I said, "No, I have to go get my book." He laughed quietly at me. He laid his head on my side and waited to see if I would fall back asleep. I did a little, but I kept thinking about getting my book. Again he asked if I was going to crawl under the covers. This time I woke up all the way. I got up and traded my pj bottoms for jean shorts. I grabbed my purse and headed to Walmart. I got there around 12:25am. The parking lot was full and people were coming out with their book. I walked in to find a happy lady handing out bracelets and posters. I grabbed them to take back to Savannah and also picked up a copy of the the first Harry Potter movie on DVD. We had gotten that on video originally. I went to one of the designated line and waited to collect my book - well actually - I grabbed some gummie bears first! I chatted in the line with the people around me. Behind me were two teenagers getting their copies and a copy for their boss. Ahead of me was a mom with her teenage daughter. Everywhere I looked I saw all different people. It was not a single age group or gender or anything specific. There were young and old and everywhere in between. There were men and woman and girls and boys and all sorts of teenagers. It was exciting! Sort of like the feeling you get when you go shopping really early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving. And, yet, even more exciting than that because that happens every year. Someday when I read these books to Sebastian, I want to tell him about the night his mom went to a plain old Walmart to get the last copy of this series. I want to tell him that it was exciting to see so many people want to read a book. Not play a video game or watch a movie, but read a book. It was nice to hear from the mom who started reading with her daughter when she was in 3rd grade. It was fun to hear from the teenager behind me saying she was going to read all weekend. It was just all good. I collected my copy and headed home. When I came in, Timmy was sitting at the laptop. He needed to get to bed because he had to be to work at 6am this morning. Then he asked me if I would read the first chapter aloud to him. My 18 year old, 6'2, fully grown young man asked me to read the first chapter aloud. At first, I just wanted to read. And then it hit me... what I have been thinking and writing about. This was the end of our era of reading Harry Potter books together. It seems like it was just a minute ago that I sat with him on the couch and read the afternoons away. And now he is all grown up. It has been a whole year of realizing he has grown up right before my eyes. I opened the book and I read aloud. I read the first chapter and then he asked if I would read the second chapter. I did. I would have kept reading, but my grown up son had to get to bed for work. He will read the rest on his own and so... the end of a wonderful memory...