Is there such a thing as too much Star Wars?


It's spring break this week. We can't go to the country because there is no one to heat it before we arrive, and the water pump is broken. So we are at home in Riga. I can't get the boys out of the house no matter how hard I try. They are totally enamoured with hanging out in their pyjamas, playing Star Wars Lego and Star Wars on the Wii, pushing each other over, tickling each other and laughing hysterically.  Gotta love those dudes. They have recently discovered Weird Al Yancovic and his myriad songs about Star Wars: "Yoda" instead of "Lola" and "Be a Jedi" instead of "American Pie". Oh, Lordy, Lordy. Here's a word of warning for any parent of kids even vaguely interested in Star Wars: don't play them these songs. Unless you want to spend a few excruciating weeks listening to the choruses being belted out anywhere and everywhere.

In honor of living in this house for almost a year, we thought we should start painting the rest of the unpainted walls. Should have started around 12 months ago. We did the first wall on the weekend: a blackboard wall in the kitchen. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm not so sure.  We now have a big black post in the middle of our kitchen.  Huge. And. Black.  Dividing up the whole kitchen and making it look smaller and fussier.  Oh well, we're going to have to live with it for a while and see if it grows on us.  Lucky that we have budding artists at home to decorate the post with... Star Wars pictures.  Oh, yeah.  That's going to make the wall SO much more palatable.

Ironically, Tiss is being interviewed by some British filming team tomorrow - for a doco about kids around the world and their traditional cultural interests.  Tiss looked stumped, and a little crestfallen when I told him he couldn't list "playing Star Wars computer games" as a traditional cultural interest.  And that reading "The Wimpy Kid" books did not make for a scintillating account of what he likes to do on the weekends.  Or does it?  Depends on who you ask, I guess.



Oh and - this is one for my good friend Mel.  This post in her blog reminded me about the joy of cubby houses made with sheets.  Tiss was not convinced about making a cubby house today - he is, after all, at a ripe old age of 9, where that kind of thing is almost uncool.  So Mik and I made one in the lounge room.  As it turns out, both the boys played in it all afternoon.  How come? - you might ask.  Easy.  Any age can play in a cubby house when your lounge room is a part of the Dagobah solar system, and the cubby is actually Yoda's house. Of course.


5 Responses so far.

  1. Liene says:

    Maybe you can explain to me why the Wimpy Kid's name in the Latvian translations is Gregs?

  2. Kimberley says:

    I look forward to seeing the documentary. Have you heard about TCKs (Third Culture Kids)? Fascinating stuff!

  3. Fiona says:

    An old boyfriend of mine is doing a sculpture phD on 3rd culture community migration. Not sure of what it is all about yet but it is new thinking. Not sure that I agree with the classification. Aren't we all just transient in our place of abode and cultural engagement, and historically so. Why is it different. If anyone can explain please do!

  4. What a silly question! A better question would be, can you ever have too much Star Wars lego? Coming from a girl who has a lego deathstar sequestered in the top of her wardrobe. So nice to see the boys enjoying a sheet cubby at their ages, gives me hope I have a few more years of it yet. And the blackboard wall/post issue- my thought would paint it white from the top of the fridge up and it will dominate the room less cause it is very cool and very functional.And the wall art- At least you are not getting pictures of poo with the word poo and an arrow littering your the house the way i did last week! melx

  5. My kids were still making sheet forts in Uzbekistan up to our last day there - they even made one in Riga while we were there in the summer. Once we moved to Malaysia and both of them got their laptops from school, forts have become a thing of the past. I miss them.

Leave a Reply

Category

  • (20)
  • (67)
  • (9)
  • (1)
  • (13)
  • (11)
  • (45)
  • (19)

Followers