As Danakin Skywalker, I would be remiss if I didn’t post SOMETHING today. You know I love Star Wars Day. Every year I have a movie marathon, even if it’s just IV, V and VI (the old ones). Today I get to do it with a slobbery little Darth Vader.

It started for me in 1997 when my dad took me and my sister Brooke to see the re-release in theaters. I was seven years old and I still remember so clearly sitting in that dark, cavernous theater and hearing the “DUNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!” sweep loudly through the seats as the iconic gold text rolled across the screen.

It was cool enough to be going to a movie with my dad. It was especially cool to be going at night, PAST MY BEDTIME (!!!) and that my dad was so so excited to take us. That alone would have made any movie memorable. But this was no ordinary movie! It was STAR WARS. The robots, the lightsabers, the Force, the spaceships, the bada** princess, the scary animals and that music! I think I sat there for all 180-something minutes with my eyes and mouth wider than dinner plates.

THIS IS THE GREATEST THING I’VE EVER EXPERIENCED. 

I knew that, even at 7 when you haven’t experienced all that much. I loved it ever since. When I was in high school my dad bought the DVD set of the originals and I watched them over and over and over. We went to the earliest possible showings of Episodes 1-3 and loved them on principle, even if they weren’t as good as the originals. I bought every Star Wars t-shirt I came across and people quickly got the hint – nearly every Christmas and birthday of my adult life I’ve received amazing Star Wars paraphernalia as gifts. I love it.

How can something from the 70s still have so much relevance? So much of a pulse on pop culture? They’ve been making tv shows, games and cartoons even since the new movies came out and then the Disney announcement and the new movies… I hope it never stops. It is an incredible story with interesting and admirable characters. It tells of bravery, faith, redemption, good vs. evil, love and even family (kind of in a weird way sometimes… yikes).

I can’t wait to share this with my little kids in the future. They’re gonna grow up knowing who Princess Leia is. The bravery of Luke Skywalker. The BOSS that is Han Solo. I can’t wait to tell them about all the fun times and things Star Wars has been in my life.

That time I wore my favorite Star Wars shirt for good luck when I went to have Baby Reese.

That time I made Glen Coco wear the Han Solo riding the Tauntaun costume and he HATED IT.

That time The Beard got me a huge Stormtrooper for Valentine’s Day

That time I made Glen Coco’s cone of shame into an R2-D2. Didn’t like that one much either. Dang it Coco get with the program.

And the best Star Wars Day I ever had – I made TONS of treats, got up at 8 am on a Saturday and watched all 6 movies with a bunch of friends and family!

I could keep going but I’d rather snuggle my baby and mock Darth Vader’s breathing.

May the force always be strong in this family, amen.