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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

A Walk and More Potter

Yesterday was a cross training day, so Erin and I went for our Tuesday walk for the first time in about...oh, six weeks. We had been so diligent with our schedule for months, but then work, travel, family, etc impeded our regularly scheduled Tuesday walk, but yesterday we were able to resume the workout. And all I have to say about that is that it was HOT. The poor dogs, they were both spent afterward -- Scooter went home and just laid on the cool tile for awhile to cool off.

I too was hot and tired afterward -- it's weird, sometimes I feel more tired after walking than I do after running. Erin must push me hard :)

Anyway, I spent the rest of the evening reading Harry Potter and I stayed up a little later than I had wanted. I've been so tired lately that I really wanted to make an effort to get to bed early so I could get plenty of sleep, but the Potter kept me awake longer than I wanted, and I had to just draw the line and put the book down so I could go to bed. Thus, I am still tired today (it didn't help that even after I put the book down and turned out the light, that my husband and I talked for half an hour about what kind of wand we'd each have if we were magic -- I went with a simple Oak wood and Phoenix feather filling for mine, but my husband said he'd want Redwood for his and dragon scales for the filling: we are dorks, I know).

But one of the reasons I love Potter (all the books) is that reading them reminds me of reading as a kid. I always loved to read, and my mother's rule about reading at night was simple: I had a very specific bedtime (8:30 -- even in the summer -- until I entered middle school), but as long as I was in bed reading, I could stay up as late as I wanted to. Trust me, there were many a school morning when I cursed myself for staying up to finish a great book (like a Ramona book or something by Judy Blume, no doubt). That kind of excitement for a book is what I'm reminded of when I read HP, and I think many others feel that way as well -- it reminds us (or me, anyway) of why we love reading in the first place: it transports us to another world and allows us to experience something completely out of our own existence, and in the case of Harry Potter, that transportation takes us somewhere quite fantastic. Thus, it's a little difficult to put not just the book, but the feeling, away at night.

Anyway, b/c I have so much work to do (student essays to read instead of Potter), I probably will only get a snippet in this evening. Plus, I have a run to do, 7 miles. At least it will give me time to puzzle over all the mysteries the book has presented so far.

12 comments:

Ryan said...

If I was you I would make my wand out of a toilet...

Erin said...

LOL! Very true for Jess but if she had a wand she could make a toilet appear with toilet paper before she pooped herself.

As for Potter, I am loving it but reading makes me sleepy no matter how good the book is. I had hoped to read for another hour or two but crashed.

I am glad we are back on our walking routine. It was very hot and I felt bad for the hounds. They were sooo hot and tired. The bummer is we only did 2 miles because of the heat. I miss the extra 2 on top of that but in the heat, I am always happy to quit early. Now...if I could just get back on the bike in the mornings.

Krista said...

I LOVED Ramona! I haven't gotten into Potter, but I'm thinking I may need to pick up the first book and dive in.

L*I*S*A said...

I need to get started on Book 4 of the HP series!

David said...

The coolest wand would be made of Liger tail. They are known for their mystical powers. Gosh!

teacherwoman said...

Ahhh...the wonderful Harry Potter! Oh, how much I love these books! i just recently started reading the final book and am about 200 some pages into it. I feel like I just get sucked right in. It's wonderful!

Enjoy the run tonight!

Randy - Maniac #788 said...

Great post Jess, I only have to pick up a book at bedtime to be reminded of reading when I was a child. It was something that I truly enjoyed. I got to read alot of my Mom's old mystery books, some of the original Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton books, then she hooked me on the Hardy Boy series. I still have all of my Mom's old books from the 30's and 40's. The books in the early 40's were done on some type of special paper, I'm assuming because of the war and it's starting to deteriorate some....but ohhh the memories....I'm glad to hear that I wasn't the only child that enjoyed reading....it's stayed with me all thru my life and travels.

ws said...

I can't recall reading a book for pleasure until I was in college. I imagine I was only semi-literate in HS anyway. I've never read a page of Potter, should I be reading them?

I hope you enjoyed your 7 miles, hopefully the wet weather yielded cooler temps...

Marcy said...

ROFLMAO David!! OMG you guys are so cute!! Some of the stuff DH and I talk about before sleeping . . .gosh you don't EVEN want to know. We have the most hilarious/ dorky convos right before bed. They're the best!

Neese said...

Jess i could hug you, the paragraph describing your reasons you love potter and all books, was beautiful.

J~Mom said...

Ahh...I love that! I have very similar memories from when I was a child. I love reading and I am so happy that my kids love it now. Hurry up and finish so we can talk already. :>)

Mendy said...

That's great about how you think about reading, relating it to your childhood. I want my daughter to have that passed along to her. Although, I don't think I read as much as you do - but I have to read before going to sleep.

Great post!