I took the boys to see “Star Wars – The Phantom Menace” today… in 2D. In case you haven’t heard, the entire Star Wars movie saga is set to be re-released to theaters in 3D and ‘limited’ 2D screenings. I told the boys we were going to see Star Wars at the movies theater and they were ecstatic. After lunch, while we waited to go to the movie, all the Star Wars gear got pulled out.  The boys had light saber battles, rescue plans from the evil Separatists (we’re a Clone Wars family), and space battles in their fighter ships. After about an hour and half of epic battles I got the kids rounded up and we headed out to the door.

When we got to the movie theater it was about 30 minutes before showtime. (Side note: I’m a Star Wars purist and will not see a time honored classic ruined with crappy 3D effects.)  So being a ‘purist’, I figured that there would be a rush of Dads wanting to take their kids to see the movie in its pristine 2D glory. Nope, I guess Mankato doesn’t have as many purists as I thought. Besides my neighbor, and his two kids, there were a total of six of us in the theater. That’s right baby, me and my boys got to see Star Wars, in a theater, all by ourselves!

As the movie progressed, Evan started to get a little tired and cold.  So he snuggled on my lap and as the pod racing scene. He’s cheering and clapping as Anakin wins the Boonta Eve Classic. And then he toots. A scene later he toots again and it’s loud enough for my friend to peek over and wonder who it was. Five minutes later he throws up on the floor in front of me. I felt terrible for Evan and hurry up to take him to the bathroom to clean him up.  While I’m wiping his face off I asked if we should go home. He got upset at the idea that we’d leave the movie before it was over. So like a trooper, he goes back to watch the rest of the movie. Evan then proceeds to get sick two more times, all the while keep his eyes glued to the big screen.

At this point his pants are wet from the first time I cleaned him up, his shirt is wet because I cleaned him up with a wet towel I got from the concession stand the second time he got sick, and then he proceeds to hold my drink cup as a puke bucket for the remainder of the movie. All the while I’m asking if we should go and he continues to say no. Now I know what all of you are thinking, ‘why in the world wouldn’t you just take this poor kid home?’. I have my reasons… and they’re good ones too. One, Evan was making more of a fuss about the possibility of leaving than he was of getting sick. Two, Sam was there and he’d have a bigger conniption than Evan would if we left before it was over. Three, it was just the six of us in the entire theater. I got up, got down, got towels, cleaned up the mess… you get the idea – I didn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone else. But through it all, Evan kept wanting to watch the movie until it was over. The minute the credits started to roll, he gave in and said he wanted to go home.

Now that’s a true Star Wars fan and his dad couldn’t be prouder!