My husband and I read the Harry Potter books as they came out (from book 4 on). We both really enjoyed them and looked forward to sharing them with our children. On a road trip the summer after first grade, we listened to the audiobook of Sorcerer’s Stone, and they were hooked. We continued to save them for when we were on the road. Over the next few years, they loved riding for hours in the car so we could listen to the stories of Wizards and Muggles.
Unbeknownst to them, we had begun to strategize that first summer. We made sure to finish all 7 books before they were 11. We wanted them to wake up on the morning of their 11th birthday to letters from Hogwarts telling them they’d been invited to attend, then we would get on a plane and head to Orlando for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.
We planned this for 4 years. They turned 11 in June of 2020. It didn’t matter what we had planned, Covid canceled all of them. Instead of an acceptance letter, they received a deferment letter. And they’ve been asking for the last 4 years when they would get to go.
We finally booked the trip for Fall Break of this year and managed to keep it a secret from them for months. Then hurricane Milton decided to visit the parks right before our scheduled trip. We began to wonder if we were just not meant to go.
Thankfully, Orlando did not get hit very hard and we will get to go. Our family that lives in Tampa and Sarasota evacuated to Orlando and are safe, but their homes were hit hard. At the moment they have no power. They had to spend the money they were going to use on a hotel while we were in town for accommodations to ride out the storm. Now they have to go back and start cleaning up. We aren’t sure if we will get to see them at all now.
We told the kids today. They received their new letters this morning. In the hustle of getting ready for school on a football game day, the energy was even more scattered as they began thinking about the trip. It’s not going to look the same as it would have 4 years ago, nor will it be quite the trip we expected just last week. But we’re going.
I’m looking forward to seeing them be kids. They’ve been growing up so much this year and I want to see the excitement and wonder in their eyes again. I’m sure we’ll have our drama moments and arguments, but it’s been so long since we’ve had a family trip to reconnect us. We had been doing it yearly before Covid. But the last few years have been difficult to coordinate. It will be so good to have all of us together without rushing off to the next activity.
I do have some concerns about getting to write while I’m gone. But I’m going to give myself some slack and simply focus on staying connected to my writing, rather than a word count. I just don’t want to lose the momentum I’ve got going like I did in the spring.
Leave a Reply