May the Force be with Your Mother

As a rule, whenever Roo gives a talk in church he finds a way to incorporate a Star Wars analogy, no matter the topic--faith, forgiveness, tithing, you name it. You know the scene of Luke trying to lift his ship out of Yoda's swamp? That scene alone has probably provided him with analogies for at least ten different topics on various occasions, all of which bordered on sacrilege but which made him very popular with the deacon's quorum, and left me shaking my head.

So when Roo was asked to speak in church on Mother's Day, I was half disappointed and half relieved knowing there was no way Star Wars could be weaved into the assigned topic: Eternal Motherhood.

How wrong I was.

His sentiments were so popular with the crowd, as I had many people raving about his talk to me afterwards, that I just want to share some of them here with you:

Young Anakin Skywalker was taken away from his mother and raised by a well-intentioned Obi Wan at the Jedi Temple. And though he was well-intentioned, Obi Wan was not a mother. Then Anakin grew up into a murderous villain. How different might the Star Wars universe have been had little Ani had the guiding influence of his mother in his life? Think on this...

Amen.

(Despite shaking my head at this analogy being shared over the pulpit in Sacrament Meeting, I was thinking: if I hadn't already had this man's babies, I would definitely want to now!)

Then he sent me this e-card to make a point, I think.

Roo was worried that he didn't do a very good job of celebrating me on Mother's Day. But he did an excellent job--he gave me these lovely roses, a new dress, and yummy German pancakes for dinner.

And, most importantly, he gave me these two:

So, thank you Roo, for making me a mother in the first place.

In conclusion, I promise to never let anyone in Jedi robes come take away my babies and raise them as Jedi knights.

(Esmé as a toddler is scary enough--can you imagine her as a Sith Lord?)