It's definitely genetic -

Had a lovely experience at my almost 14 year old niece's middle school graduation last week (sappy Aunt Jen cries). This is her speech - a finalist in the school competition - which not only proves Harry Potter obsession is genetic but is wonderful and charming and shows I have some serious family competition in the writing business.

Graduation Speech

by JL

When I reflect on the past three years at Mill Valley Middle School, I like to compare them to Harry Potter’s six years at Hogwarts; after all, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been around since we were in kindergarten.

When I think of science, I think of Potions class. This isn’t because Ms. D reminds me of Professor Snape, but because we started out this year doing chemistry. It all seemed like magic, especially when your average pink substance turned blue, and started to smell like the sewage plant next door to MVMS.

Social Studies reminds me of Defense Against the Dark Arts, because of the Current Events we focused on. These included the crisis of water bottles contributing to landfill waste and global warming. Harry and his friends learn about the dangers of Voldemort, and how to protect the Wizarding World. Likewise, we’ve learned ways to protect our world from this crisis.

When I think about Language Arts, I relate it to Charms, because everyday we learn something new like appositives, conjunctions, or prepositions. Then we practice them over and over, like Harry does with spells.

In chorus we sang the song “Double Trouble” from the third Harry Potter movie, and although we were in our hot old gym instead of the luminous Great Hall, it was still very fun because Ms. S was so enthusiastic!

Of course, large parts of the Harry Potter series are the occasions when Harry faces Voldemort. We have definitely had to face some fierce battles of our own throughout our three years here. One challenge for me was Algebra. Finding the solution for “x” was almost as hard as finding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Another Voldemort-like challenge for us are friendships. There is always some secret being told, or some heart being broken. But however much tension there is, we find a way to get through it. There are always those moments of inexplicable laughter that simply lightens our day, like conjuring your first Patronus in the Room of Requirement.

I may not be able to predict the future like Professor Trelawney, but I know that High school will bring changes, especially with friends branching off to other schools or moving away. But whatever it does bring, we will always have the incredible memories of the magical years spent at Mill Valley Middle School.

Harry Potter Prequel!

So Rowling has written an 800 word prequel to HP to auction off for charity.   By hand.   Now perhaps if I were the best mom in the world I would get that for Julia for her birthday but since I've been out of work since before the strike I think buying the mass produced published version when it comes out might be better.

I think I'm going to have to have Julia try to write one of these - www.waterstone.swys.com/ 

- just for the possibility of being part of the whole thing.  Wouldn't that be cool

a very harry potter birthday

So the birthday fast approaches (June 4) and yesterday we pulled out all the stops and threw Julia's birthday party - very appropriately a Harry Potter Dark Art Party - because she loves HP and she loves art. Pals were asked to wear magical clothes and they started off at this amazing place in west la - Creative Space - where there was tatooing and nail painting and wandmaking and potion making and wizarding class and a seemingly accident waiting to happen obstacle course that I was sure someone would break their neck during so I was glad we ruled out little kids and Quidditch (which turned more into dodgeball with those floatie noodle things between their legs) and the very Muggle snack of juice boxes and pizza - and, of course, CAKE!

I got a "best mommy in the world" when we picked up the cake (thank you Ralphs) - wish I'd had the time and energy to be Martha and make it myself but this made her happier than any I could come up with I'm sure. I can just picture now the gloppy purple dyed icing falling over wizard hat cake that would have come out of my kitchen - all vomity and unappetizing.

The "best kid in the world" part - Julia asked her friends to bring a new book instead of a present for her and she's donating all of them to Operation Schoolbell tomorrow after school. At one point I thought she was going to ask everyone to bring a Harry Potter book to donate but she let them pick their own - funny thing, not one person brought a Harry Potter book to donate (from Fancy Nancy to Chronicles of Narnia and a wide range in between!).

Sirius

We're closing in on the end of The Order of the Phoenix. And this morning - before school - I read to Julia the last two pages of the chapter where Sirius dies. It's an interesting death in that it's not bloody or violent, there's no body to recover, no corpse to weep over. He disappears behind the veil and he is gone.

And I'm wondering why Rowling chose that route. Did she think Cedric's death was enough, having that body to weep over? Was having Sirius merely fall behind the curtain a hint he could return, (even if having read book 7 we know he doesn't). Did she contemplate that? Magical deaths appear to be much cleaner than gunshots and plane crashes and knife fights - is this a somewhat sanitized version for kids as we move into the harsher books 6 and 7?

As for Julia - she knew it was coming because her friend W has filled her in on some plot points but she's trying to figure it out...coming to me tonight to find out when Dumbledore dies (yeah, he spilled that too). And she's lying in bed right now, sounding out words in one of her more age-appropriate books. Soon she'll be reading HP to herself and I'll be obsolete. And sad.

Harry Potter falls off the best seller list?!

Say it isn't so!

Must be Voldemort's doing.

and crafty too?

OK - Julia does want me to teach her how to knit, but I am not that accomplished. I am able to surf the net at all hours of the night but knit, not so much. I did rug-hook as a kid but I pretty much think that's a lost art (or at least I've lost it).

But spotting this book - oh, it may be incentive for us both to learn. If I were Mrs. Weasley I could charm some knitting needles and pump out some sweaters. Julia does want a Weasley sweater with a big J on it (or is it a big G since she believe's she Ginny, it's so hard to figure out).

if i were a good mom -

this would be Julia's birthday cake -

obviously scroll down to hogwarts -

experiencing operating difficulties?

OK - I've posted a couple of times since our return from the Harry Potter tour of the century but somehow I must have screwed up and not pressed the publish button? So - postings lost to the ether....never to be recovered. I assure you that they were my most insightful, most brilliant yet.

So the jet lag is way over, the shortbreads are consumed, the tartan hat worn to school with pride, and we are into the depths of book 5. I am also getting harassed daily by my lovely daughter to let her watch the movies already, even though she gets scared at scenes in Stuart Little. She tries to force pinky promises on me (damn that hurts) and has no sense yet that deals and bargains actually have to be entered into by both parties.

Yesterday she grabbed her quill (yes, I bought her a quill in London) and paper to write her essays for Transfiguration and Divination and Potions in the car on the way to seder. Then she got upset at how many essays she had to do for school and told us that first year Gryffindor students had special dispensation to have their parents write their essays for the.