The force is strong here

I knew I was married to a big-time Star Wars fan. Little did I know that the situation could still be raised to a whole new level.

When we got pregnant, Armand and I took care in making the announcement to friends and family.

My husband’s special way of telling his friends was, though very much in character, quite unorthodox when it came to his metaphors. As I forwarded his email to my friends, I said:

For those who don’t know, Armand is a majorly huge Star Wars fan. He’s loved Star Wars since he first saw it, and has been enamored ever since. He even created a “Star Wars book” when he was around 6 years old, to add to all his Star Wars-related stuff, complete with illustrations and musical score.

We caught the advanced screening of Episode 3 last Wednesday, and last weekend, we had another significant “event” lined up. He recently emailed his friends, they who know how geeky he can be about the saga and everything about it.

* * *

Today I heard something that is more wonderful than the sound of Darth Vader taking his first breath. I heard the strong heartbeat of my baby, three months in the womb. Yes, my dear friends, I am going to be a father. It was the most incredible feeling hearing the baby’s heart beat. I am so in awe of the whole experience. It was as if the baby had said “I am here” and I heard it loud and clear.

Armand

As I expected, it opened the floodgate to endless jokes and teasing. They called the baby in my womb Darth, and many other variations. His friends would say that we should call the baby Luke, just so Armand can finally utter, “Luke, I am your father!”

When Matthew was born, and Armand took on the role of stay-at-home parent, he would usually watch one of the Star Wars movies while doing his baby chores, sometimes even while putting Matthew to sleep. That was pretty much the extent of our intended exposure of the franchise to Matthew, as I thought we’d let him watch the movie when he’s around five or six (Armand was four when he discovered his love for Darth Vader).

Armand submitted this to Starwars.com in May 2006. Matthw was six months old.

It must have started a few months ago, though, Matthew realizing what this was about. Last December, during a visit from Hugo and Mia (who were on holiday all the way from London), the secret closet housing the sacred toys was revealed. Hugo (eight years old) had been looking forward to this much-talked about collection. (I imagine that the stories were pretty hyped up because my husband is still lusting about all the other toys and collectibles that he has not acquired.) Out came light sabers, action figures and other paraphernalia.

For days after, Matthew played with Armand’s beloved Jango Fett.

For Christmas, Hugo presented Armand with a set of little Star Wars characters—and later on introduced Matthew to them. By the end of the day, Matthew knew the names of Ani (for the young Anakin), Jar Jar Binks, and Yoda. Last month, he’s named them all: Qui Gon Jin, Jabba, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Palpatine (Armand said technically it’s Darth Sidious), and “Droid.”

Oscar, Nick, and Jack help with the crash course

Little did I know that a fixation has begun. Bedtime music began to include the Star Wars theme and he now demands to watch Star Wars on video. We let him watch the musical special after realizing he doesn’t really care much for the film itself, as much as he does for the characters and the music. From there, he’s added more names to his repertoire: R2D2, Obi Wan, Anakin (for the older one), and Amidala. He confuses Janggo with Boba Fett, though (well, I do too!).

Last week, we got him a cheap “light saber,” a sixty-peso knockoff he waves around with flourish. While he was playing one day, we caught him humming a new tune: “mio, mio, mio, mio. Aaaa… aaa… aaa…” He calls it the Darth Maul song, referring to the soundtrack of the epic light saber battle between Darth Maul and Qui Gon and Obi Wan.

Camille took these shots the other day. Matthew and his Darth Maul face [left]; wielding his light saber [right].

Playing with cousin Camille Skywalker

All this at two years old. I have long accepted the fact that I am married to a fanatic. Now, I can humbly accept being outnumbered. Although it’s really quite fun to encourage the obsession—while it’s all still very cute.

We’ve got a clip of the father and son bonding over music and their latest common interest. You can view it on Armand’s site by clicking here.