Last week I was sick. Some stomach bug thing that had me laid up in bed between trips to the loo. It's never any fun, especially when it happens on a weekend - the one time our entire family has a chance to spend a few precious hours together. So instead of doing "family" stuff, Hubby-Wan & Padawan-Wan entertained themselves while I watched t.v. in bed all day.

But on the 2nd day I felt my strength returning so I dragged my weakened body down the stairs to the sofa in the living room. Hubby-Wan poured me a pint of Gatorade, Padawan-Wan brought me his favorite blanket to cuddle up under then declared, "Mom, I think I'm ready to watch Lord of the Rings now."

Whoa! My heart leapt into my throat I was so excited! I've waited 62 months for him to enjoy these stories with me and here was the moment - I wasn't going to let it go past. "Of course!" I found strength enough to open the DVD case & insert disc 1 into the DVD player. Extended Special Edition or nothing for this LOTR junkie.

The movie began & Padawan-Wan was riveted to the screen. Isildur is shot as he tries to swim - this is the moment that sparks the Padawan's verbal diarrhea. Seriously, we watched all 12 hours of this trilogy with a constant stream of questions pouring from his face. Normally I don't mind, ask away young one, but this time it was just too much to take. It was stupid questions like (as Frodo stood beside Gandalf's cart) "When is Frodo going to get in the cart?" and "why is Gandalf wearing a hat?" I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!!

We have read The Hobbit to our son so he recognized Gandalf & Bilbo & even the dwarves when they appeared in Rivendell. But I was amazed at how quickly he picked up on the names of the characters. Of course, the one thing he could NEVER keep straight through the whole trilogy was Sauron and Saruman. Well, I have to admit, the first time I read the trilogy about 10 years ago, I too was a bit confused. Although... an amazing thing happened during disc 6, the padawan said, "Is Sauron going to die now that Frodo melted the ring?" WOW!! It only took 11 hours & 45 minutes for him to figure it out!

In all, he thoroughly enjoyed the films. I thought for sure the Orcs & Uruks would scare him to death but they didn't. How do I know? Because we've gone several days without a nightmare.... We began the trilogy last Saturday and spent the whole week making it through the movies. It's been a fun bonding experience with my son to say the least. I have enjoyed watching him enjoy the films.

We finished the last disc just an hour ago. Now, yes, I admit, I cry at the end of the books so there is no way I can make it through the films w/o shedding a tear. To my amazement, as Frodo said goodbye to the hobbits at the harbor, my son began to cry. He said, "Is Frodo going to die?" Amazing. He kept Sauron & Saruman straight AND understands metaphors? I think I have a genius on my hands.

Watching LOTR has been a nice way to kick off the holiday season. Every year for the last 10 years I read the books starting on January 2nd. This is the first time I've watched the movies before starting my reading marathon.

Happy Holidays everyone!