It’s been a little bit since I posted anything. We can blame that on my kids’ fall break and vacations and house projects and friends and life and no time.

Or we can be honest and say I went here:

  
  
I am not a big fan of amusement parks. But if more amusement parks let me spend hours walking around inside my favorite books, I would be.

You guys, I went inside here:

  

I ate a feast at The Three Broomsticks with my family.

  

I popped into this and dialed the Ministry of Magic.

  
I drank butterbeer.  (It was perfect.)

  
I actually rode the Hogwarts Express. I can’t stop thinking about it.

 

And in the end I brought home a useful pet.

 This is not meant to be a travelogue or a visitors guide. I have no useful tips. 

This is just to say that I went inside the Wizarding World, and I’m having a hard time coming out.

I came home. Home to my life and my home and my overjoyed dog. Home to Indiana in October where the whole world is burnt orange and yellow and bathed in golden sunlight and even when it rains it has a gloomy perfection. 

I have not come back to reality.  Not in my head, at least.

Luckily, my job is make believe and all my kids want me to do this week is make them costumes from their favorite books. (Yes, my life is perfect. No, I don’t deserve it.)

So I’m giving my brain permission to stay lost for a little bit. Reality is overrated anyway.  

I’ll meet you back here in a few days for Halloween, okay? I think I have something to make you shiver.

I’ll write it down as soon as I finish this next daydream…