Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Lessons from the Weasleys

I realize that many of the readers of this blog are not fans of Harry Potter, but bear with me. The Weasleys are a family in the Harry Potter series. Ron Weasley is Harry's best friend.
I think we could learn a lot from the Weasleys.
You see, the Weasleys have seven children, six boys and finally one girl! When a guest at the eldest Weasley son's wedding sees Harry disguised as a Weasley cousin, she remarks, "Another Weasley? You breed like gnomes!"
The Weasleys with their five youngest children,the older two have already grown and moved out

I have a pretty strong feeling that the Weasleys would have balked at the idea of birth control. They love their kids. I'm pretty sure the thought of limiting how many they have would been unthinkable to them.
But you see, a lot of people in the story think badly of the Weasleys. They think it irresponsible at best that the Weasleys have so many children. Why? Because the Weasleys don't have much else.
The Weasleys are dirt poor.


The Weasleys' home,
affectionately called The Burrow

Nice house, eh? The Weasleys live in a rundown old house. They wear hand me downs. They buy pretty much everything second hand. I think the only vacation they ever went on was one that Mr. Weasley won for them - a trip to Egypt to see the pyramids.
Mr. Weasley works in a job that he enjoys, but it doesn't pay much. This leads many people to believe that he is not capable of a better (read: higher paying) job, which is not the case. He just likes what he does, and money is not his driving force. Mrs. Weasley stays home to tend house and care for the children.
The Weasleys don't have a lot in the way of money or material possessions.
But when JK Rowling wrote this family into existence, she knew something many people do not.
The Weasleys, poor as they are, are the happiest, most loving group of people in the entire storyline.


The sitting room at the Burrow
mismatched furniture, homemade decor,
children's artwork on the walls

People love to come to the Burrow. It is a haven, a place of comfort and welcome to all weary friends and family members.


Ron's bedroom

Everyone knows they are welcome to stay the night if needed. The Weasleys will fit you in somewhere, as long as you don't mind being a little crowded.

The kitchen at the Burrow
While it doesn't look like a picture out of a magazine,
everyone knows they can stop in any time for a hot homecooked meal
or just some conversation 'round the table
The Burrow is a place of happiness, of contentment, of family and friendship and fun. The Weasleys don't care much about fancy things or name brand clothes or outward appearances. They know what really matters.
In contrast, we have the Dursleys, whom Harry has the misfortune of living with (though he heads off to the Burrow every chance he gets). The Dursleys are your classic middle-class suburbanites. They live in a neighborhood of row houses where blending in is a highly respected art form. Uncle Vernon goes off every day to a job that he likes to complain about, and Aunt Petunia stays home meticulously cleaning and polishing everything in the house while spoiling their only child absolutely rotten. Who wants to be like that?
Then there are the Malfoys, the uber-rich family of the story, who live in a huge old mansion, shop only at the finest stores, barely speak to each other, and basically live a miserable existence thinking they are so much better than everyone else. Um, no thanks.
So, you see, I want to be like the Weasleys. Boy oh boy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley love each other so much, you can see it in the way they act. I love the part in the sixth movie when the Burrow is set on fire by the bad guys (a part not in the book, but the screenwriters at least did this:) Mr. Weasley is out in a field nearby, and at the sight of the house going up in flames, he says one word before running to help: "Molly." (That's Mrs. Weasley, for those who may not know.) All that was going on that night, and his first thought was of his wife. **tear**
And they love their children. They do what they think is best. They discipline. They teach. They make their kids help out around the house. They try to keep them from danger. They worry about them. They let them go when they must.
The Weasley siblings love each other as only siblings can, with a rough and tumble love born out of necessity. They get upset with each other from time to time, but in the end they know they can count on each other when it really matters.
So, the Millers (that's us) may not have a lot of money. We may never have a fancy house or fancy clothes. Fitting in will never be on our list of priorities. Neither will a spotless house.
But we will always have a home that says welcome. You can always get a meal here, even if it means thinning out the servings so that everyone gets a little less. In a pinch, you can sleep here (if you don't mind being a little crowded). You can come if you need to talk, or cry, or have someone to play with, or just find a little solace in hot chocolate and warm cookies.
Mr. Miller and I (heehee) will always be madly in love with each other, and we'll never have a problem with expressing it openly. We'll always love our kids, and they'll always love each other in spite of arguments.
We'll always welcome more kids, yes, even though it means the money has to stretch a little farther, the meals have to thin out a little more, and the house gets a little more crowded.
Because, like the Weasleys, we know what really matters.

11 comments:

  1. Oh, how I love this post!!!! (however, Ron didn't win the money, Mr. Weasley won the galleons at work, sorry HP dork here) This is a great take on my favorite family! You are a genius!

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  2. Ugh, I was thinking it was Ron! I guess it's cause Ron is the one going around showing everyone the picture. Unfortunately I couldn't look it up to make sure as some of our HP books are still packed!

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  3. I adore this post!! So true and another wonderful exampled of the Christian undertones and truths revealed on that series. :-)

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  4. hey there is nout wrong with the weasley family i love them to bits <3

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  5. Mrs.Draco.Malfoy.1July 20, 2011 at 2:37 AM

    i love the weasleys. i agree with the bit where u said they're poor but they love their kids <3. but i still love the malfoys...not cos they think they're better than everyone else but i still love them XD <3

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  6. Great post! It drives me a little nuts that some Christians will see this post as inherently evil because it deals wit HP, but yet love and even encourage the LOTR books - both have good and evil wizards people!

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  7. Great post! I love the Weasleys! It reminded me of the things that really matter in life- love and family. I wonder why Christians are so against HP. I just don't get what's so anti-religion about the books. That's coming from a girl who loves going to church!

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  8. Wonderful post! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Love those Weaselys! God bless!

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  9. I just saw this link and so I am way behind when it was posted. But earlier today I had written a post about how I found Harry Potter to be a motherhood classic and whenever I read it I desired to be more like Mrs. Weasley and then tonight someone who hadn't seen my post sent your outs and WOW -it is like we are the sisterhood of the Mrs. Weasley fan club.

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  10. I'm another follower from the previous commenter -- and I'm so glad she shared your post! Mrs. Weasley is my role model. I want my house to feel like the Burrow. I love how you described their family! :) I have a few HP posts of my own, if you're interested: http://crunchychristianmom.blogspot.com/search/label/Harry%20Potter

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  11. I know this is a rather old post, but I came across it doing a search for Harry Potter themed bedrooms (the picture of Ron's bed came up). I'm a stay at home mother of five and my husband is an enlisted solider in the army. I relate SO MUCH to Mrs. Weasley! A lot of people think it irresponsible of us to have so many children and that we can't provide for them all the luxuries that some circles of people think children "need", but we make do and manage. I think Molly Weasley is just the epitome of warmth, generosity, and strength.

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