Day 2

After a lovely day of whirling around the house with all these aunts and uncles I haven't seen in ages, it was amazing to sit down with everyone yesterday to just eat and talk and argue about who gets to feed the dog little bits of apples and turkey under the table. Luckily, everyone was sent home with heaps of leftovers so no one has to face eating turkey for the next six months.

Nonetheless, I was so relieved to have a day to do absolutely nothing except feast on a substantial amount of Thanksgiving leftovers. By which I mean I steadily plowed my way through four bowls of food before I began feeling awake. Then I happily surrendered to thumbing through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I'd forgotten how it felt to first crack open the book and count how many different letters Harry received from Hogwarts and all the different ways Uncle Vernon tried to destroy them all. It's been over a decade since I began reading Harry Potter but it still calls to me in the same way. I remember picking up the book in 1998 at the Scholastic warehouse book sale right before Christmas and feeling that I'd discovered a kindred spirit in Harry Potter. But because I'd already piled my cart with too many other books, I set it back down. A year later, before my oblivious self was aware of any of the buzz surrounding the book, I rediscovered Harry Potter and, leaning against a stack of dusty books, read the first chapter. That was it. That was all I needed.

There's something to be said about a magic like that. And I'll admit just how happy I am that this little book, the one that began it all, still lets me feel like a kid.

-I