William has had his head in a book. He finished reading one of his birthday presents, The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes, and has decided to read it again. And he is also reading Scholastic”s version of The Revenge of the Sith, because it’s the only one of the movies he hasn’t seen yet, because he is only nine. He comes to the table with a book. He rides in the car with a book. He tries to read while he is practicing the piano. He tore himself away from his book for a half hour this late morning to help me make some measurements in his room. He would have preferred to be reading. He only wants to read.
He spent some time with a friend this evening, a friend of the female persuasion, who was pleased to share with him her paper dolls of Anakin and Padme. William was interested in these, but not nearly as interested as he is in the many models he has made of Star Wars ships and other modes of transport using Legos. I would guess he has built, destroyed, and rebuilt over thirty different types of vehicles. He was Thrilled to receive Darth Vader’s tie-fighter (sp?) for his birthday. Darth’s light saber really lights up.
I asked him this evening what his favorite aspect of Star Wars is. After a brief discussion in which we defined what I meant by “aspect,” he replied, “The words. The word Jedi never even existed a few years ago.” And then he went on to list other words he likes, words with obscure spellings that we are uncertain of, words that sound Good, words like mustafar, and geneois, and Degoba System.
Does it even occur to him that his mother is an English teacher? and that remarks such as these bring joy to my brimming heart?
I don’t think so. And that’s the beauty of it, really. He just likes the words because he likes them. Oh Joy! I think I’ve done something right.
