Even though I'm older than you, there's not actually a ton of children in my life. Lots of friends chose the no kids route (me included), my nephews are still too young to have interests past the ABCs (and I've got those DOWN already), so the only kid really in my sphere is my best friend's 7 yo who lives in a different country (or different continent, if you subscribe to the idea that the Americas are three separate continents instead of one big continent with area denomination names just for the sake of clarity) so we have limited contact. BUT TRUST ME when I say I WISH he was into Star Wars (cause Harrison Ford is hot, and because I am a nerd) or Legos (Not a brickhead but would you like me to tell how I planned a whole vacation around one tiktok I saw about the MiniChef restaurant? Well, it'll be on my newsletter eventually) or even WWI (cause I also don't know anything about it.. so it'd be culture...).. No... The 7yo in my life is obsessed with ants. And I spent a whole week trip to Disney World discussing ants on every line we were waiting on and every restaurant we stop to eat at and every place we walked to, and of course he saw I was the easy mark who could not ignore a child since she has not learned boundaries....
I came to star wars as an adult, and generally, I have found them to be Very Fun, but not something I'm like, DEEP into? But one of the things I love about it is that for me, like lord of the rings, I can be super into the aesthetic and the weird side stories and nothing else! Like, am I a superfan, no, but did I go to the star wars hotel disney did and cry like a baby at what a beautifully cathartic experience it was? Also yes!
"Could you please be upset on a chair?" is such a good metaphor for so many things I'm going to sit with it (pun intended) for a while. I feel very similarly to you about action in movies and things that are too sprawling and have too many insider references it feels like you need to know in order to enjoy! And getting into your kids' niche interests is low-key one of my favorite things about parenting although no one warns you about the specific ache that happens when they've moved on?
Even though I'm older than you, there's not actually a ton of children in my life. Lots of friends chose the no kids route (me included), my nephews are still too young to have interests past the ABCs (and I've got those DOWN already), so the only kid really in my sphere is my best friend's 7 yo who lives in a different country (or different continent, if you subscribe to the idea that the Americas are three separate continents instead of one big continent with area denomination names just for the sake of clarity) so we have limited contact. BUT TRUST ME when I say I WISH he was into Star Wars (cause Harrison Ford is hot, and because I am a nerd) or Legos (Not a brickhead but would you like me to tell how I planned a whole vacation around one tiktok I saw about the MiniChef restaurant? Well, it'll be on my newsletter eventually) or even WWI (cause I also don't know anything about it.. so it'd be culture...).. No... The 7yo in my life is obsessed with ants. And I spent a whole week trip to Disney World discussing ants on every line we were waiting on and every restaurant we stop to eat at and every place we walked to, and of course he saw I was the easy mark who could not ignore a child since she has not learned boundaries....
Anyway... you did ask.
Ants!!! I love it! There's nothing better than a kid's weird interests.
I came to star wars as an adult, and generally, I have found them to be Very Fun, but not something I'm like, DEEP into? But one of the things I love about it is that for me, like lord of the rings, I can be super into the aesthetic and the weird side stories and nothing else! Like, am I a superfan, no, but did I go to the star wars hotel disney did and cry like a baby at what a beautifully cathartic experience it was? Also yes!
Aaahhh, the Star Wars hotel! I'm so jealous.
"Could you please be upset on a chair?" is such a good metaphor for so many things I'm going to sit with it (pun intended) for a while. I feel very similarly to you about action in movies and things that are too sprawling and have too many insider references it feels like you need to know in order to enjoy! And getting into your kids' niche interests is low-key one of my favorite things about parenting although no one warns you about the specific ache that happens when they've moved on?
Sometimes I get SO SAD when I think about the interests he's outgrown! I know it's normal and good but it still feels weird.