My Kid Likes Star Wars

I can't remember the date exactly or the year. I could not tell you how old I was or even come up with any point of reference for the period of time. All I know is that my memories from early childhood are few and far between. I have a few very clear memories and some fuzzier ones but one memory I have held onto is the first time I watched Star Wars with my dad. I'm pretty sure I was older than 4 but not much older than 6. It was a time in the mid to late 80s when the movie was circulating on tv (and by tv back them I mean one of 5 or 6 channels) quiet a bit. I am sure I didn't fully understand the plot or the intricacies of the story line and there was no internet back then to let me know just how many people truly loved the trilogy. For all I knew, it was some obscure movie my dad liked. I do remember the captivating music and the simplicity yet excitement of good versus evil. I was able to watch it for the first time not knowing what would happen and being surprised by the plot twists. It was one of the stand alone most memorable moments of my childhood that I've held onto to this day.

All of that being said, I knew someday when I had a child I wanted to share the same experience with them. I was hoping, like most parents do with hobbies or sports they loved, that my child would share in my passion for the force and everything in the magical world that went along with it. Right now with Emma being just 3, I was not sure if she was old enough to understand or appreciate the Star Wars world (plus let's face it, she just got over getting up every night at 2am so I didn't want her to see anything scary that might set us back.) So, I have been waiting for the right time. It's like I'm waiting for when I know her inner jedi will awaken and she will be ready to grab her light saber to rally for the rebel alliance.

While patiently awaiting my day of glory, Disney's marketing machine decided the wait was over. I think I've mentioned before that a while back, Emma chose Disney shows/ movies as her main source of entertainment. Mickey has been her jam forever now and so with the Disney channel comes commercials for other Disney shows. Enter Star Wars Rebels. Or rather, enter the most annoying droid hip hop mini music video to promote the show you've ever seen. After about the millionth time the thing aired, Emma figured there must be something to it and asked to watch the show. This was in no way how I pictured her first Star Wars experience to be but I figured since it was a cartoon maybe it would not be as scary as the movie could potentially be. The show was fine but what surprised me was when Darth Vader showed up. Not that there is anything wrong with Vader showing up in a Star Wars cartoon (the fact that James Earl Jones was voicing him did put me at ease but made me wonder if that man ever gets a moment to rest). The surprising thing was, Emma somehow knew who Darth Vader was, "Look Mommy! It's Darth Vader!" Like she was seeing an old friend for the first time in forever.

She then proceeded to repeatedly question who Darth Vader was....um no kid it's not coming that easy. What she really wanted to know was what he looked like under his mask. After several days of hounding, I caved and pulled up the scene on YouTube when Luke takes off the mask (but made sure she did not know who Vader was if that makes sense.) Yeah maybe it was not the best decision to unveil such a pivotal moment but it was sort of out of context. I guess I need to work on caving under pressure. How she seemed to know about Darth Vader in the first place I do not know (kids at school?) But she seemed to know he was an important person. Either way, the point of all of this is...my kid likes Star Wars! I mean she was genuinely excited about the characters and the mystery behind it! I've been beside myself with glee ever since! We haven't watched the full trilogy yet. I'm not sure why I'm holding off at this point (scary monsters? storm trooper "violence" perhaps?) But I think the time is nearing for us to enter a galaxy far far away.