... May The Force Be With You ...

Luke and Ben Skywalker, on the diverse training of the New Jedi Order…

Luke: "Ben, what is our purpose as Jedi?"
Ben: "Well… to keep the Force in balance and to help people stay in balance with the Force. To detect wrongs and make them right. To serve as models for very attractive lines of boots."


I wish I were an artist who could paint a portrait with ease. I would love to be an artist so talented, my brush could portray the true essence of the person posing before me. Unfortunately, I am not. My mind holds the vivid image of the little dark haired, five-year-old boy leaping off a chair with his light sabre. The Jedi Knight wore a pillowcase cape around his neck as he leaped from the couch to the floor to the chair. He was the guardian of peace and justice, and righteously defended those in my brother’s home from Darth Vader’s evil plans to control the universe.

Oh yes, he knew the script and was amazingly good. He memorized the lines and had the characters voices down to a tee. He could throw his voice and become the main cast members of Star Wars. Yoda, is the one that is the most memorable. My nephew may have not been green like Yoda, but with the allergies he had what came out of his nose was! We tagged the oozing substance Green-11, I’m sure you got the picture! I shake my head now, with a smile on my face thinking of him at that age. The shy freckled-face kid with a huge toothy smile had a many universes to discover.

The knight resurfaced years later when my son was small. There were nine years between the boys, and in his protective mode, he told my son that if anyone ever picked on him, he was to tell them his cousin would take care of them. My son believed him and the bond between the boys began without ever having met each other. I see them both together today, and feel equally as proud.

The story how my nephew and I eventually became close is a long and personal one. We hung onto each other with encouraging words through a few hard times. He is married to a beautiful girl with a loving heart and has three gorgeous daughters. He made the life altering decision to join the Army after nearly two years of weighing the odds. I didn’t understand it at first, why at his age and marital status would he want to do this. Then he told me this, “There is a big idea which is at stake, the principles of liberty and justice. The thought of doing what is right is what makes it easily borne.” Serving our country in troubled times was exactly what he felt was right, also his duty.

My nephew, Tom is being deployed to Afghanistan tomorrow morning. I asked him if he was okay with it and he calmly said, “There is nothing pleasant about where I am going, nor about soldiering, but I can endure its privations.” I thought that was a noble statement. I won’t be seeing him board the plane or numbly watch it as it disappears into the clouds, but he knows how much I love him and how very proud I am of him. So, tomorrow, I will stand a few hundred miles from him and look proudly towards the sky, my thoughts, my heart, and my prayers will be with him. I will envision his freckled face smiling back with the confidence of a Jedi Knight.

Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hands… ~Aunt Monica