The Force Is Strong With Us

We had a big family treat the other night - well, it's a treat if you're a nerdy family like we are.

At last, after months of anticipation, we took the kids to see Star Wars 7 'The Force Awakens' at the cinema.

We lined up with everyone else, handed over our tickets to the lady at the door, filed up into the cinema and took our seats. We waited slightly impatiently through the countless ads, listening to packets rustling and people chatting behind us (we were near the front).

Finally, the lights went out and that first familiar line appeared on screen. 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away....'

In that moment, you could have heard a pin drop. The expectation in the room was something I don't think I've ever experienced in a cinema before. Then, the signature music blared out and I'm pretty sure we all 'sang' along ... something like 'barm barm, ba-ba-ba-baarrm barm, ba-ba-ba-baarrm barm, ba-ba-ba-baaarrrm'.

That whole line would make no sense to anyone who isn't into Star Wars, but for us it was a real fan moment!

From that moment on, everyone was hooked. I'm not into giving away spoilers, so I won't say anything about the plot. I will say that the whole feel of the movie was much closer to the original trilogy (if it had been another one like the 'prequels' I wouldn't have been impressed). It was also nice to see some familiar faces in the cast - although some maybe haven't aged as well as others - and the new characters are all interesting too. There was no one who was instantly irritating (no Jar Jar Binks here!) and the plot twists kept everyone on the edge of their seats.

I sat between my youngest son (aged 8) and my daughter (aged 14) and, at various times during the movie, we would nudge each other excitedly, anticipating what would come next, or lean over and whisper about something that had just happened. I believe my husband and other son, a couple of seats over, were doing similar.

If I could justify the cost of another trip to the cinema, I'm pretty sure we'd have been back there to see it again already. In short, we loved it, and can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

As confirmation, my littlest Caveman turned to me as soon as the end credits began, to announce with a big grin, 'I want to watch Star Wars 8!'

Where did the time go?

'Do you know that feeling where you don't like school and don't want to go any more, but then, when it's holidays, you miss it and want to go there again?'

This was from my 8 year old son last night. School only finished for the year yesterday! I usually love the holidays, but the next 6 weeks could feel like an eternity for all of us if he's missing school already.

He had a great final day of year 3 - they went to the town pool for an hour, then off to a park to play and have pizza for lunch, then back to the school for a movie, topped off with a free ice block to end the day. (That ice block would have been nice, the temperature here got to 37 degrees yesterday!).

Anyway, now that everyone is done with school for the year, we can gear up towards Christmas! The tree and decorations are up and most of the presents have been bought and wrapped, so now it's just organising the actual day and balancing the budget. Of course, it won't be easy this year, with my work situation changing so much - I don't know yet whether I'm working on Christmas day, so we haven't arranged to go anywhere, or for any visitors to come to us. I have no guarantee of still having a job in January and a couple of large bills have just arrived, to throw the finances into chaos as well.

In fact, I think I'll be happy to see the end of 2015. We've had so much going on that the whole year seems to have passed us by like a train - it feels like we're still running along the platform, waving madly, trying to catch up and climb aboard! I only realised a few days ago just how little I've been involved with my youngest boy's school this year. In previous years, I took pride in the fact that I was a dedicated 'school mum', attending all parades/assemblies, helping in the classroom and the tuckshop (canteen). I haven't had time for any of it this year and, in all honesty, I just feel tired.

I will enjoy the time I have with my kids over the holidays though ... we are going to see the new Star Wars movie next week and will plan more activities once I've seen my next roster and can plan around it. If there's one thing we've all learned this year, it's that life can be short and you never know what's around the corner. Family time is something we all need more of and should appreciate while we can make the most of it.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all :-)