Last night – or was it only this morning – I was at the Paramount waiting in line with my 14-year-old for our turn to see the last Harry Potter movie.

We thought we smartly arrived at 10:30 to get in line and into the theater.

I have a rueful “ha” for that one.

The end of the line snaked towards the back of the building and ended somewhere on the north end of the block near Chestnut. The line to go in did not start moving until after 11 pm. We would not get a chance to get concessions before the movie.

Luckily, we were around people willing to talk to us. One woman talked about how she listened to the audio books and how great the voice actor was at creating the different voices. Her husband cautioned me not to reveal any spoilers as she had not finished the 7th book yet.

So we talked about all of the costumes we saw – Hagrid, Bellatrix, Mad-eye and, of course, Harry. Girls wore costumes with touched of the Gryffindor colors, wizarding robes were all over the place. Mr. Mad-Eye had a flask on him.

I should have asked to see his sneak-a-scope. Opportunity lost.

A couple who had been behind us came back down the line and I motioned them over so they could be in their rightful space. They had been smart and went off for concession snacks. (BTW Dennis,  thanks for the Lemonade. I owe you one.)

Once we got in and found our seats – at the very front – we waited about 20 minutes before the movie started. That was enough time for me to get in the line for the ladies’ room.

The crowd cheered when the trailers started. We roared when the movie started with little pre-amble. As the movie rolled along and hi-lights from the book were hit, we cheered or were silent as need be.

What I can say about the movie is that the Hogwarts we knew will be destroyed. It will be fantastical and heartbreaking. Professors will do spells they have always wanted to do and your heart will break as the dead bodies pile up as if this was a Shakespearean tragedy.

If that was true, the ending would be bleaker than it is. But this movie – and the book – wants us to know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite all that is terrible right now, it will get better.

As we waited outdside, I noticed 8-, 9- and 10-year-old children in line to see the movie. Let me be blunt and state I am not sure this movie is for them. The theme is about the horrors of war, about good struggling against an all-encompsing evil. The worst of the death scenes take place with a divider between us and the victim. But the sounds, the thumps, the attacks are unmistakable.

Let this movie wait for them to grow up a little bit. In case you think I am being cruel to your kids and not my own, let me disclose that my 10-year-old daughter is desperate to see this movie. She is on the seventh book as we speak. But so far my opinion is that I want her to wait a year or two before she sees it and several years before my 6-year-old can get a look.

Was the movie worth all of the tears I cried, the late hour in which I came home with my son and the inability to sleep until 5 am?

There is no other answer than “Yes.” I would do it again. In fact, I want to see this movie again. There is so much that I have missed. And, perhaps, I am not ready to let go of Harry just yet. If I see the movie one more time, he will not be out of my life completely.

Then again, I still have all seven books.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

Like many people this year, I decided to work on my diet and exercise habits.

 I already walk in the afternoon and have cut or limited various bad foods from my diet. So now I am looking to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet while increasing my level of exercise.

 The latter has been helped by my cable company. Instead of watching another episode of Ruby on the Style Network, I am looking through the ON Demand Sports and Fitness category to get to Exercise TV.

 Here I have found some interesting workouts. Two weeks ago, I tried a Back 2 Bollywood with Sarina Jain. While I loved the leg and arm work, my shoulders protested the constant movement. I still do it whenever I get the chance. My 9-year-old daughter asked to join me for that one. She ended up only watching.

 I have also tried some of the yoga workouts and various dance work outs. As much as  love kickboxing with Denise Austen, I did not like it so much with the guy on this system who was trying to make my body go in positions that are possible for more flexible people than myself.

 My biggest surprise has been doing Latin dances with Jennifer Galardi and Billy Banks. I know it is hard work but doing it to a dance makes the work out more fun. If I have to workout, the least I can do is find ways to make it fun. How can it not be fun when you are doing the Cha-Cha or Salsa moves. Suddenly, I feel as if I could be a contestant for Dancing with the Stars.

 But only in my living room.

 How are you finding ways to make exercise fun this year and are you seeing any good results yet?

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

I did not know her personally. I only ever saw Odessa Beals at the Paramount Theater whenever we went there to see a movie. She was the one person I continually saw there that I remembered year after year. We would chit-chat over the years. I once asked how long she had been at the Paramount and found it had been six years at that time.

 I will miss her. 

Odessa passed this past week, her funeral was on the 4th. I found out when her obituary ran in the Daily Journal on January 1. I saw her at the top of the page and thought the woman looked familiar. I did not recognize her out of the setting I have always seen Ms. Beals. My hope is that a life of peace has opened its doors to her as I would anyone else. 

There she was with a listing of family (Two sons, two daughters, 10 grandchildren, a great-grandchild) and friends. The obituary talked about she was respected by co-workers, a hard task when most of your co-workers are teens. I was also surprised to find she was 58. I would have taken ten years off, easily. 

Odessa was a small part of my life as I was in hers. We passed, said hello, exchanged money and tickets. She smiled at my cute kids and we all moved on to whatever came next. But I could count on seeing her there. Not anymore will that happen. 

I will miss you, Odessa. God’s speed to your new life.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

und ruhig fliesst der Rhine

 I was driving into work one day and saw the above phrase on the back of a white mini-van. I took the time to google this German phrase and found it means:

 And calmly flows the Rhine

 It is a very pretty phrase and one that could lend itself to the Kankakee River. Lord knows I get lost in simply watching it move along whenever I take kids to the parks along the river.

 I have noticed a lot of cool decals on the back of vehicles. The ones that have a decal for every member of the family are fun. One decal I could live without is the little boy who ‘marks’ his rivals. I am always seeing others that are very cool or reminders to click in your seat belt.

 So I am wondering what do other people see out there? Have you seen a notable auto decal or bumper sticker? Tell me what you have seen in the comment section!

 Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.