I Finished!

SPOILER WARNING!!! If you haven't read the new Harry Potter, skip this posting!

I was able to finish two books during my little jaunt to the mountains. I read the rest of "Praying for Sheetrock" and plowed through "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Between the sadness in both books, the miserably hot weather and all the accumulating stressful things in our lives, I was left very grumpy for most of the weekend.

"Sheetrock," as I mentioned in earlier posts, is the true story of the struggle of black citizens of McIntosh County, GA to realize the equality that the Civil Rights movement brought to the rest of the nation. It is told primarily through the struggles of one man who fights with two friends to make permanent changes to a system designed to keep blacks down. It is very uplifting and inspiring to read about people who fight for what is right. It's very sad, too, when you realize the sacrifices that are made. And it was downright depressing to see how easily the most important dreams can tumble to pieces when tragedy strikes. This book left me fearful that real people may not be strong enough to stand up to adversity any more. I hope not. There is too much still to fight for.

As for Harry Potter, it was a very enjoyable book. I did find myself crying from time to time, but considering some of the events of last week, I don't know how much of this was for the story or for other reasons. I guess I never finished Half Blood Prince so some things were a surprise to find out that Dumbledore was dead. I was very confused about Snape. Maybe something else I missed in the 6th book? It took me too long to figure out what the hell a horcrux was so that was confusing. And I still don't know what my friend meant when she said not to underestimate the strength of a mother's love. Maybe this was a reference to Mrs. Weasley's attack on Bellatrix? I am tempted to read some of the thousands of blogs that mention the book, but I think I'll just see what my friends have to say.

After these somewhat emotionally draining reads, I am in the mood for something light. I pulled "Emma" by Jane Austen off the shelf. It's been at least five years or more since I've read any Jane Austen so it'll be interesting to see if my view of her writing has changed.

Off to the shower before the kids wake up. The back to school schedule begins today. No more 9:00 pm bedtimes. I won't wake anyone up early this week. The likelihood that my kids won't be awake before 8:00 is very tiny. If they need to sleep in, I will happily let them.

Until next time...