Neville Longbottom

My daughter Brighton has always been a daddy's girl. From the minute she was born she wanted her daddy. He would walk the floor with her on his chest for hours at a time, when she had colic. She goes to her dad when she is hurt, feels scared, or needs comforting. I don't have negative feelings toward this relationship dynamic at all. My husband is an amazing father, and I'm glad my daughter has someone who loves her that she can confide in. But, there are sometimes, I wish we could be closer. We have always connected over arts and craft; something we both love. Then, this last year Brighton's reading skills and comprehension just blossomed and I so started reading them chapter books at bedtime. I was thrilled that I could finally share with her something else I love. That we could talk and connect over my favorite books.

 Last night we finished the first Harry Potter.  From the very first time I opened it in the Middle School Library when I was in the 5th grade, I have loved the book. Not surprisingly, it was a book about a child with a difficult life, who was felt different and unloved, who one day finds out he is special, even magical. He gets to escape that life, and be a hero. I related to this because so much of the time I felt...unvaluable.  Brighton lives a much better childhood then I remember living. When I was younger, I felt very different from other kids, like I was somehow built wrong. My brain didn't seem to process information like other people. And I was socially defunct. Unfortunately, this seems to be Bright's inheritance as well. Add that with a natural proclivity toward weirdness, and BINGO we are raising a geek. In our house Geek, Nerd, Weird...those are not negative words. Being a geek simply means you love something a little more then the average person. It simply means you love more, and that's not bad.

Brighton LOVED  Harry Potter. She begged me nightly to read just one more chapter. It was slower going then we both would have liked because her little sisters kept falling asleep through it. Last night the little ones fell asleep with just 4 pages left. It felt like a shame not finish for Brighton's sake, so we continued.  When I read the part where Dumbledore gives Neville 10 points for standing up to his friends, I heard the shuttered breathing from the top bunk of Brighton holding back tears. I understood. I think I was too at that point. I finished the book and slid out from between the other girls on the bottom bunk.  I told her that when I was younger I felt like Neville all the time, and so that part when he is the hero makes me cry too. She said she is Neville too. We talked about how being different isn't necessarily bad. How feeling different much of my life, lead me to be an independent thinker. Eventually, I think I grew into my weirdness, and made friends with people who value me for it.  We talked about how difficult it is to stand up to people, and how much harder it would be to stand up to your friends. Sometimes in life you have to do that. I told her about the time my best friends in the world asked me to do drugs, and they all did, but I said no. How I sat apart from them feeling alone. And how that was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. And she talked about how far apart she is getting from her friends. How they want to be all grown up; do and say teenager things, and watch teenager shows, and wear teenager clothes and how she  is happy just being 7.

and...That makes my heart happy.
and it's all thanks to Neville Longbottom.