On Creating Magic
Once upon a time, I was passionate about creativity through parties. Forever the lead party planner for all my friends and family, I took my job seriously. There were vision boards and researched recipes and lots of crafting with glue guns. I always assumed this would carry me into my children’s birthday themes. But motherhood happens and it shakes you. It forces you to make choices, to pare down, to let go. Themey birthday parties did not make the cut in my capacity for creativity.
But the thing I am learning about children is they have a very big presence in both the waiting and growing of my creative sense of self. Their arrival in my life put parts of my creative side into hibernation. It was necessary for my motherhood side to grow and develop first. And then, in time, they also inspire that creativity to reawaken. In fact, I feel my creativity is deeper, richer, more imaginative because they are too.
When Caroline asked for a Harry Potter birthday, she didn’t just want a couple hours for a party, she wanted a whole week (she probably would have argued for a month but I have my limits.) Her mind churned ideas and I took note. As I worked to bring her visions to life, I felt more alive than I have in awhile. I didn’t just want to make her happy, I wanted to be happy too. I wanted to feel the spark that comes from creating a world from my imagination. She reminded me that magic can be real when we make it so.
As the great Dumbledore himself reminds us…
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
Thank you, sweet Caroline, my seven year old spark of a child, the one who made me a mom, who taught me to be me. Thank you for reminding me how to live.
The girl indeed inherited her mother’s ability to celebrate herself and celebrate well. She had planssss. All the favorite foods were consumed. She planned plenty of alone time to read. And a whole week was devoted to her discovered love of the world of Harry Potter. We visited Diagon Alley for textbooks (the library,) Honeydukes (the largest candy store in Minnesota,) a store for magical creatures (the Wild Rumpus book store with friendly store cats,) searched for moving portraits (Minnesota Institute of Art,) and climbed a real castle (wooden playground.) Then the whole week finished with a Harry Potter birthday party with a few friends, some quidditch playing, butter beer sipping, Marauder’s Map scavenger hunting, magically good time.
I can only imagine what might be brewing in her little mind for next year.
