It all started with the Muppet Show. It’s their fault.
A while back we let S & D watch our Muppets DVD with the Stars of Star Wars special. They absolutely loved it (just as we hoped - anything that keeps them away from chuffin’ Barney) and Samantha couldn’t stop talking about Luke Skywalker, Derth Nader (Gonzo as Darth Vader) as well as ‘Mr Elton John’ (another episode).
This was really good timing, as Revenge of the Sith came out a couple of months later, and its everywhere, especially in their cereal. All the cool kids at nursery have their Kellogg’s pocket-sized lightsabers, and S & D are no exception. Samantha now knows a lot of the names of the characters, and has even drawn me a picture of Obi-Wan Kenobi for my office. A moment that brought a tear of pride.
You’d think for a Star Wars obsessed daddy, this would be a dream come true, but I do have reservations. First of all, I don’t want to be a dad that imprints his likes/dislikes on my children. If they like Star Wars, fine, but as long as its their choice. More importantly, S & D are only (nearly) 4 and 2 respectively - too young to be watching the films. Samantha has already had a nightmare about Darth Vader, and as for Daniel, he cowers at the sight of Ronald McDonald (mind you…).
I’d love to show them the attack on the Death Star in Episode IV, or meeting Yoda for the first time in Episode V. I have a box full of all my Star Wars toys, and I’m literally bursting to get them out and let them play with them. Alas, I think I must wait patient.
Playing with the wee lightsabers is great though, especially when Samantha rushes past me excitedly, shouting “Have you found Mace Windu’s?” in a high pitch voice. Thats my girl!