Not all movies or television shows ignite my children's imaginations. Most of them are enjoyable for the short period we enjoy them, but don't seep into their play, their writings, their artwork in quite the same way that "Star Wars" has with Christopher. We just recently let him watch the 3 original movies of the trilogy. I was a bit trepidatious -- these were definately the first "real" movies that we let him watch (non-cartoon, non-G rated type of movies). But man, has he loved them. He is quickly turning into a real Star Wars nerd.

He asked the librarian to help him find Star Wars books at the library, and she helped him find the Star Wars Visual Dictionary, which has pictures of every character and written descriptions about the types of vehicles they use, their preferred gear and weapons, and their history with the Force. His Star Wars toys, which have been always beloved, are now truly beloved and giant scenarios unfold in the toy room now for hours on end with them. A friend came over this week and they ran through the house with their lightsabers pretending to be Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Of course, Cate doesn't mind the idea of being Leia.

And that moral of the story about anger leading to the Dark Side? It actually seems to help Christopher understand the need to manage his emotions. All in all, a movie series could do a lot worse.