Three years later.

We started this blog with great plans.
We were going to write about reading.
It was going to be great.

Every time I go to my Blogger dashboard I see this blog and wonder whether it will ever come to anything.
Today I decided that it is time to revive Hopeful Books.

The second post was supposed to be about the book that gave me my name.
But Dad has to be the one to write it, and I'm writing now, so this post will be about something else.
Mostly because I'm currently avoiding homework.
I have a story to write for one of my classes, and I've hit a bit of a roadblock.

I'm going to write about Narnia.
Because I love Narnia.

I don't remember the first time I followed Lucy through the wardrobe and into Mr. Tumnus' cave.
I can't think of a time when I didn't know the cruelty of The White Witch.
Or the danger of eating enchanted food.
Or the necessity of cleaning one's sword after killing a wolf.

I, like the world, first experienced Narnia through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
For many years, it was the only book in the series that I knew.

I think The Horse and His Boy was next, as it should be.
I made a diorama of that one sometime in elementary school.

I worked my way through The Magician's Nephew.
And learned to be careful when putting on rings.

I borrowed The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from the library at our old church and never gave it back.
It's somewhere at home. In a box from sophomore year, I'm sure.
The Last Battle was a similar situation.

I didn't read Prince Caspian or The Silver Chair until two summers ago.
The Summer of C.S. Lewis.
Or so I thought.
I had big dreams and poor planning.
I was going to read everything the man had ever written.
And then I didn't.

But I got all the way through Narnia.
From before the beginning to the very end, and after the end.
I heard the song that began it all.
And I went "further up and further in."
I sailed to the very end of the world.
I went underground.
I saw children become kings and queens, and was with them when they helped a prince take his rightful position.
I went to battle.
I watched the world fall apart and went through the door.

I sat on a chair at a lakeshore in New Hampshire and read for hours.
It was a wonderful summer.

I was thrilled to find that Dawn Treader was on my booklist for Novel two years ago.
And when I was given the responsibility of summarizing the plot for the class.
Easiest assignment ever.

And then, just over a month ago, it happened.

It was the 50% Off Labor Day Sale at Goodwill.
I went with about ten girls from my dorm, just to look around at what was there.
I am a sucker for a good deal and am in love with "hipster" style, so Goodwill is one of my favorite stores.

I found a few items, and was looking at the books to find some old classics to use for crafting.
(I know, "never destroy a book!" Blah blah blah.)
And then I saw it.

The Chronicles of Narnia.
The cover is a picture of Jadis from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
I'm not generally a fan of movie pictures as book covers, but this was an exception.

The entire series, in one volume.
For $4, I believe.
Yeah, too good to pass up.

So, for the past month, I have been escaping into Narnia each night before falling asleep.
I finished The Magician's Nephew about a week and a half ago, and finished The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe last night.
I woke up this morning and greeted Shasta and Bree.
I left them as they were coming upon Tashbaan.

It's like like seeing an old friend and spending hours catching up, telling all the old stories, never missing a beat.
It's like going back to the place you visited every summer when you were a child and feeling like you're six years old again.
It's like disappearing from reality to a place where everything ends up good, even though it doesn't always seem like that's possible.

My heart is happy.
And now I have to go to class.