Tender Thoughts of Middle-Earth

For the last week I have been reading Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien. A few weeks ago I finished The Silmarillion by him as well. And the more I read about Middle-Earth, the more I am in wonder at both J.R.R. Tolkien and the story he created. (I say "created" loosely since I am starting to believe that he "recorded" it rather than "created" it.) Today I was at work and during a slow time I was in the back working on some projects, and I found myself pondering the plight of the race of Men in Middle-Earth and the significance of Aragorn. My poor coworkers must have been wondering why I suddenly got all teary-eyed and withdrawn. But when you consider the whole story of Men in Middle-earth and how the Elves and everyone else lost faith that Men could withstand the growing evil of Sauron since for ages Men have faltered, I want to curl up and cry thinking about that scene in Return of the King when Aragorn finally leads Men against Sauron...Oh, it is so tender. I have enjoyed becoming a Lord of the Rings nerd, but what I love most are the random moments like this where I will have a deep, tender thought come to mind and it makes the world take on a richer, deeper dimension. My friend Shari from work, who has never even seen the movies, has heard so much of my tender moments that I am now being proclaimed ridiculous. But I can't help it. Middle-Earth is just so, so tender.