The Force Lives On

One of the things I love as a parent is introducing my kids to the things that I loved when I was younger. Growing up, I was a huge Star Wars fan. I was really too young to see Star Wars when it first came out, but by the time The Empire Strikes Back came out, I was totally into it. Over the last couple of weeks I've had the chance to relive my childhood through the eyes of my girls. They decided that they wanted to see the Star Wars trilogy, and I was more than happy to oblige. I guess the fact that they are getting older and hearing about it from their friends made them curious to know what all of the fuss was about. They have always been so scared of any costumes or creatures, I'm glad that they're growing out of that stage. Anyway, it was so fun to see them experience these movies for the first time. I forgot about some of the great quotes Yoda has while training Luke. "Try not. There is no try. Do or do not." I've already reminded one of my girls of that one. Or, Luke: "I don't believe it." Yoda: "That is why you fail." But my favorite momemt of all came at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke and Darth are fighting and this exchange takes place:

Darth Vader: Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.

Luke: He told me enough. He told me you killed him!

Darth Vader: No. I am your father.

Luke: NOOOOOOOO!!!

My girls were stunned. They asked, "Is it true??" "Can it be?" I said, "We'll have to watch the next movie to see for sure." They wanted to go to Blockbuster right then to see how it turned out. Sydney and I kept acting out the scene the next day. She always made me do the Vader voice. When we finally did get to see "Return of the Jedi" and they found out that Luke and Leia were siblings they said, "You mean Luke kissed his sister?!" I just couldn't believe how much fun it was watching these with my kids! I've already made them sit through ET. I think Raiders of the Lost Ark is next on the nostalgia train.