Disclaimer: This post is nerdy and sappy. So, prepare your tissues, either from laughing or from understanding.
Star Wars seems to be everywhere these days, and I’m not complaining. I cannot remember a time when I didn’t know what Star Wars was. I do, however, remember when it was “just a movie.” I liked it well enough but I didn’t consider myself a big fan. My husband, on the other hand, is a HUGE fan, and over the last 10 years together, Star Wars has become so much more than a set of movies.
Here is what Star Wars means to me:
It means enjoying being a kid, before all the pressures of adulthood. I remember relaxing Friday nights, watching the original trilogy with my sister and parents while eating pizza. I remember listening to my cousins’ debate who would win in a fight: Yoda or Dumbledore (yeah, we were THOSE kids).
Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is. ~Yoda
It means being a young adult, in my early twenties, in that crazy limbo time of wanting to be a teenager yet also wanting “real life” to start. I remember watching both the originals and the prequels with my husband and our friends. We would make it a weekend event, complete with lots of good food.
I would listen to the guys have legitimate discussions about characters, which movie or fight scene was the best, and trying to figure out how they came up with the different sounds of the galaxy. And then, of course, seeing who could make the best Pod Racer sound.
And finally, it means being the present-day me: a wife and mother. My husband and I play Star Wars Battlefront (I & II) online together and we make an awesome team. One or both of us consistently land on the leader-board for our team. My kids dance (and try to sing) whenever the theme song plays. One of my favorite things to read to my kids is our Star Wars 5-Minute Storybook Collection. My oldest son recognizes the characters and will growl/yell anytime he sees a Wookie, beeps at the droids, and knows that Vader gets a deep “baa-baa-baa.” And, with the characters being in every store, it makes our grocery shopping highly entertaining.
Thanks to Star Wars, I also took a step at learning to be more independent and went to the movie theater alone for the first time. My husband and I took turns seeing The Last Jedi, although I think the kids would have been too hooked on the movie to make a scene (better safe than sorry, though!).
These little things, these tiny moments that most people would glaze over, mean so much to me. They remind of simpler times of being a kid, the friendship that my husband’s “gang” welcomed me into, the love and joy of our family now. All these things because of Star Wars! It sounds silly, I know. But, that’s me.
So, today on Star Wars Day, let me say…
May the Fourth be with You!
And if you were raised Catholic like I was, YES—it is completely normal to respond with, “And also with you.”
Oh, and May 4th? It’s also the day my youngest joined the world. So, I maybe just a little biased about how awesome today is!
There’s a new toy store in Fort Worth near my house called Holocron that is NOT TO BE MISSED if you’re a Star Wars person. I randomly went in there thinking it was a regular toy store and it kinda blew my mind. It ‘s filled with new and vintage Star Wars merch, like the 80s action figures I used to have as a kid! It’s super cool and I hope they can stay in business.