I have become quite the Stars Wars Geek these days, and like most of the recent changes in my life, I have my five year-old to thank or blame, I’m not sure which.

A long time ago (about three years) in a galaxy far, far away (Gram’s house) …

Azul found her Star Wars DVD collection and was immediately hooked. We started with the 1970’s and 1980’s originals, now recognized as Episodes IV, V, and VI, and then moved on to the entire set of movies.

One by one, Azul brought the movies home and watched them from morning to night. All of them! Over and over! He would wake up at 6:00 a.m., turn on the TV and DVD player, insert the movie and that was how he started his day. My day began at the same time with the blaring Star Wars symphony floating to my bedroom from the living room, it was better than any alarm clock I have ever had. Then after dinner he would pick up where he left off and Star Wars was on again. The Force definitely had a grasp on him and I was okay with it. We talked about the violence and how he felt about it, and like with most things I was impressed by his ability to grasp the concept of sci-fi and the difference between that and reality, so we were good and the movies continued. He knew the character’s names and would quote his favorite lines. He developed a kinship with the “bad guys” and had a striking resemblance to the young Anakin Skywalker from The Phantom Menace.

But the movies were only a gateway drug; we moved on to Legos and action figures, books and sticker books, and every character dictionary and encyclopedia we could find. The day he received a Light Saber from his Auntie Mari and Uncle Roger, he said in amazement, “I never thought I would have my own Light Saber, this is the best day of my life.” Oh, we were in deep. And I truly believe I know more about this topic than any I studied in grad school and have also, “Learned to talk like Yoda, I have!”

Finally, after months of being into our Star Wars way of life, I realized the Empire must be stopped!

The moment of enlightenment came the morning I woke up from probably the third night in a row of dreaming of Attack of the Clones fighting side by side with Queen Amidala. Now, I love Natalie Portman and Amidala, but once she entered my unconscious dream state, I was done. No more Star Wars for a while, I had had enough. There really is such a thing as too much of a good thing and we had peaked.

The break was a small one and Star Wars is still a constant in our lives, and our knowledge continues to grow, only now it is applied with some moderation.

So, in celebration of this weekend, and to my fellow Star Wars Geeks and all others, May the Fourth be With You!

p.s. Yes, in all our geekdom, we will also be celebrating The Revenge of The Sixth as well.