Pottermania & Mom Stuff

It seems like there are two kinds of folks on LJ these days: the Pottermaniacs and the Potter-Indifferents. I've been mostly in the second category. I emjoy the books, but it's not one of my fandoms.

But I have to admit that I felt a little shiver of anticipation last night when I received the notification from Amazon that they are preparing my copy of Book 7 for shipment.

In the past, I've read all the Potter books aloud to my daughter at bedtime -- and do you know how long it takes to get through the later volumes reading only a chapter or two, out loud, every night?

I think we may each read this one on our own. (I for one don't want to wait to find out How It All Turns Out.)

Except that I may have to order a second copy, so The Daughter and I don't have to arm-wrestle for the only volume in the house.

Except -- that time of reading together is special, and even though she is a budding teenager, I think she may still want to have me read this out loud to her. We fell out of the habit after we finished the last re-read of Bone and did the move. Potter 7 will be the big test of whether we've passed out of that stage entirely, or have just been waiting for another book we can both enjoy together.

LJ

It feels good to be posting about topics besides grief and moving.

Non-Poll Poll: The Afterlife

I don't have time to play with LJ's poll maker -- so please just respond in comments, anonymously if you prefer.

What do you believe about the afterlife?
What happens after we die?
Where do we go?
What choices do we have, if any?
Or do we simply cease to exist?

And are the answers to those questions an important part of your spirituality/religious beliefs?

Personally, once I grew up and discarded my childhood beliefs about heaven and hell, I haven't had strong beliefs about what happens after death. While I could experience the Divine in my present life, I didn't believe there was any way to really know what happens after. I'd also come to resent the degree to which religion has been peddled as "afterlife insurance." But Lohain's death had a radical impact on the importance of these questions to me.

I'm not interested in debating anyone about their beliefs, but I am curious.

Will you share with me?

Follow Ups From This Morning

Nothing like a few questions about spirituality to spark this group to commenting!
Thanks, everyone!



I asked, and my daughter wants me to read Potter 7 out loud to her.
I'll just have to wait a week or two longer to learn How It All Turns Out.
The time together with her will be worth it.

The War Hits Home

Like everyone else, I've heard about reservists and inactive duty military being called up to fight in Iraq, since enlistment isn't keeping up with Bush's meat grinder.

This afternoon, it became personal.

This afternoon, _storyteller_ called to tell me an Air Force colonel had called to notify him he has been returned to active duty status. He was commanded to go home and await further orders.

That's all that he's been told right now, but the expectation is that he will be ordered to report to our local Air Force base for processing within the next day or so, and that he will soon be shipped out.

I'm caught in a kind of disbelief. I'm finding it hard to imagine this could actually happen, that in a week or two he could be who-knows-where (probably Iraq, but of course it's not the only place we have a military presence) and compelled to stay there and serve indefinitely.

There's a lot more chasing around my head right now, but there's no way I could put it down coherently.