Bad Planning

A trip to a nationally-known zoo with your parents, sister, and her family. Sounds like a nice family get-together, right? Especially when the zoo in question is the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Can't get too much cooler than that, right? Well, 'cooler' in July in Nebraska isn't quite the right word... but you know what I'm getting at.

Except for one crucial thing.

At 12:01 on Saturday morning, Harry Potter 7 is to be released. And I'm going to be in a hotel room in Omaha. With my family. Who, frankly, couldn't care less about Harry Pottter. We won't even go into all the reasons that is so, so, so wrong.

We're going to the zoo on Saturday. Even should I manage to snag a copy of the book (I've located a Walmart only 3.8 miles from the hotel), I won't be able to read it until we've left the zoo. And, I used to be able to read for hours in the car but that all changed when I had kids... along with my shoe size. Now I get car sick.

Best case scenario? I can start reading around 8:00 on Saturday night. Fine. So I'll read all night and sleep in late on Sunday. The husband and kids know that this is non-negotiable, so it should work. Except I can't - I'm going to have two magazines ready to proof-read over the weekend. Plus, I have a very important date with Ruth (a Dillon family and hopefuly one of my travel companions) on Sunday night. If all goes as planned, I must be awake enough to Build a Dino with Ruth on Sunday eve.

What if I can't finish the book until Monday? What if I hear a radio report or read something on the internet or pick up a newspaper? Oh, this is a huge problem. Huge. Like Hagrid huge. Like Hagrid's step-brother huge! And Dumbledore is supposedly dead, so I can't count on him for any help.

This is going to stress me out all week. It's a good thing we already know who and where Phoebe is. Otherwise, I'm quite sure all the stress would end with me in the doctor's office asking for medication. As it is, I may just need a LOT of caffeine.

Dear J.K. - Please don't kill H.P.