We all -nine of us all together- saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 last night at midnight. I really should get a job with a company that screens these things early for their employees. I am completely over the midnight showing 'thing'. I spent the whole day dreading staying awake until 3 am and worrying about the boys-who would not be left out.
Bright spots included my getting all kinds of admiration and attention for my Dolores Umbridge costume in the theater. I am still working on the hair-need a wig- and the facial expressions, but it does turn even the heads of die hard Potter aficionados. And, the movie was beautifully filmed and very enjoyable. Leith was so excited to be there and lasted a while before curling up on my lap. I didn't have to cover his eyes as much as I had anticipated. Niall helped me out by verbally anticipating all the startling parts, enabling me to protect Leith's ears and allow him to sleep. I know, no parenting awards here.
Only some of us dressed up. Coral and Lance, I believe, wore their stuff all day. India wore regular clothes during the day with a pair of Luna-style Spectre Specs. She only respected those people who recognized what they were rather than complimenting her on her festive shades. Kevin never really considered wearing a costume and Niall agreed with him in the end. Leith went with a basic Slytherin tie. The reality is that the responsibilities of our lives make it impossible to always put huge amounts of effort into preparing for these events. India would have liked to work harder on channeling Bellatrix, but got home with only 10 minutes to spare before we had to leave. I wanted to find wig and shop for shoes, but didn't find time. And, I would really have liked to see Kevin dressed as Snape.
I think we got the event just about right, though. We all came together, with friends, after many, many years of watching the girls devour the books and listening to Kevin read the books aloud to my small boys, to enjoy the beginning of the end of this long and amazing shared experience in our family life.
I, myself, was sort of expecting a Hogwarts letter for India when she turned 11. I can't even count the number of times one of us has dressed up as a Harry Potter character for some event or other. I can hear in my mind the voices Kevin creates for each character as he reads. And, often when we disagree about the behavior of one of our children, he imitates Mr. Weasley perfectly from the second movie, saying, "That was very wrong, very wrong indeed." Coral's childhood enthusiasm has not waned. She helped campaign on FB to have the Carillon at BYU play the theme from the movie all day yesterday and was overjoyed when it happened.
Alas, I wax sentimental. Perhaps it is the lack of sleep. But, it is probably just one more example of wishing I could freeze the magical-no pun intended-stages of the lives of my children and never let them fade into memory.
