A Picture Filled with Memories

I found this picture in my office at work.  It was drawn by my then seven-year-old daughter who at the time was excited about Star Wars and her new Star Wars hero, Rey.  I love the little kid image of a person with arms coming off the body instead of coming off of shoulders.  When she drew it, I remember talking with her about the detail of Rey's triple ponytail hairstyle that she included with detail in the picture.  I also really enjoyed her depiction of BB-8  with the orange circle designs and ball shape.  

It brought me joy when I came across this picture that she had drawn 9 years ago.  I was instantly taken back to a time when my daughter was little and loved everything Star Wars.  It reminded me of when she would wear her  Rey costume for Halloween and any comic convention we would attend.  One time she wore a mash-up Rey/BB-8 costume to a museum event.  The museum had an exhibit on dragons, and she pretended that she was fighting one of the dragons.  Maybe she was pretending it was a Krayt Dragon!   

It is funny how things change.  She still likes Star Wars, but not with the same passion as then.  She has moved on to her own hobbies and activities.  She hangs out with friends now and is working her first job.  She is in color guard with the marching band, is a cheerleader, does pole vault, and is on the speech team. I love who she has become even if it doesn't still include weekly viewings of new Star Wars shows.  She just doesn't have time.  It reminds me of the truth in Cat Stevens' song, Cats and the Cradle. 

I hope her love of Star Wars and watching the stories return (maybe even in adulthood), but what is most important to me are the memories this picture brings back.  It made me sit back and smile.  Even better than that, when I showed her the picture I had found, it made her smile too.  She couldn't believe  I still had it, but she remembered drawing it a long, long, time ago, in a galaxy not so far away.