photo credit: Hard To Tap Dance With Diving Flippers via photopin (license)
“Dad cried,” Grace announced to her two sisters as we filed out of the movie theater.
“All the old guys next to us were crying, too.”
No, it wasn’t a matinee showing of “Good Will Hunting” or “Weekend at Bernie’s.” It was “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” And I’m not a bit surprised I was alone with the waterworks. (For the record, I shed tears after E.T., too.)
It’s impossible to explain to my girls just why the soggy eye.
To see Han Solo and Chewbacca and Admiral Ackbar and Nien Nunb again, it was like a reunion. The sounds, the feelings associated with sitting in a theater to watch a movie I’ve waited 22 years for, they all contributed.
Every month, I ask friends, bloggers, strangers, and strange blogger friends to respond to a six-word prompt. Ernest Hemingway inspired it when he asserted any story could be told in six words.
This month’s six-words prompt is for No Interruptions Day. How would you spend a day free of interruption?
I’ve tossed this about all month, sifting it through the tides of life that have crashed around me of late. My answer came to me as I sat in a reclining chair in a theater, with a ticket scanned from a smartphone.
That right there is space-age enough for me to feel as old as Yoda. I was boy and dad all at once. I know my daughters don’t realize the gravity of what it means to watch this movie, especially with them.
My time of no interruption would be spent just as those 2 hours, 16 minutes were last night. For 136 minutes, I mostly existed outside of the angst I’ve felt physically, mentally, financially, emotionally and in my soul for weeks now.
There’s no one easy fix for all that.
I watched, as a grown man, the heroes of my youth band together again and conquer insurmountable odds, in heroic fashion. To hold one kid’s hand and look left to the other two, and see some of the same wonderment I know I felt … I’d love to not be interrupted from that. Indefinitely.
It’s heroism and hope, dynasty and destiny. It’s legacy, and life.
This movie can’t alleviate pains of the real world. It did provide a timeout, a moment to appreciate and relax. To feel the strength from inside stir just enough to show it’s there.
1. Read, drink tea and eat cookies.
Yanic A., of Family, Faith, Food and Fabric
2. Ah, peace and quiet – enjoy it.
P.D. Webb, of Cricket Muse
3. Miraculous day, read a whole book!!
Vicki R., of Horses Dirt & Motherhood
4. I would actually finish a sentence.
Christine Y., of Love Life Surf
5. No interruptions? I’d poo in peace!
Amber M., of Airing My Dirty Laundry One Post at a Time
6. Write something, eat something, disappoint someone.
Stu M., of A Comedian’s Notebook
7. Get creative photographing, soaping, or writing.
Susan, of Life is a Journey … Not a Guided Tour
8. Read a book, cover to cover.
Teri B., of Snarkfest
9. Time to plan my new adventure.
Claudia C., of Miles + Smiles
10. Writing, relaxing, reading, and sleeping in!
Lisa W., of Golden Spoons
11. Maybe I’d finish half done crafts.
Darcy B.
12. One day road trip with friends.
Christine W., of A Fly on Our Chicken Coop Wall
Courtesy of Sandra@AMomma’sView
13. Sand between toes, hugging my family.
Sandra, of A Momma’s View
14. I would interrupt everybody with love.
Ann K., of The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally
15. Run, read, write, eat, sleep, repeat.
Eric, of All in a Dad’s Work
16. The same as I always do.
Elizabeth, of Autism Mom
17. All the sleeps I could sleep.
Elle, of Elle Sees
18. Beach, coffee and a good book.
Jillian S. of Jillian Loves …
19. Can I just lay here please?
Jonathan H., of BroJo: Mormon on Purpose
20. Starbucks, pray and fix my blog.
Kate H., of Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine
21. write letters to those i love.
beth k., of i didn’t have my glasses on …
22. Devotions, coffee, writing, planning, gym, podcasts.
Lisa A., of True & Faithful
23. Read a book- or maybe two!
Janna T., of Janna T. Writes
24. Feral Ghouls, I’ll destroy you all!
Emily W., of Nerd in the Brain
25. I would take time for myself.
Christina Z., of The Brave Wanderer
26. Catch up on 7,000 old photos.
Tamara B., of Tamara (Like) Camera
27. Sleep in, shower, coffee and blog.
Tamara G., of Confessions of a Part-time Working Mom
28. House cleaned, work done, nap time.
Kim, of Protean Mom
29. Read, sleep, movie, sleep, snuggle, repeat.
Lisa, of The Meaning of Me
30. Read a book, cover to cover.
Dana H., of Kiss My List
31. I’d delve myself into ORGANIZING heaven!
Aunie, of Auniesauce
32. I’d make my own awesome interruptions.
Jody M., of Jody Mace
33. Read and comprehend a whole book!!
Rabia L., of The Lieber Family
34. Sleep, sleep, and sleep some more.
Porshia L., of Porshia La’Shae
35. Serve others. Cook lots. Maybe nap. 🙂
Shannon B., of Whole Foods Market
36. I would read my book Sacagawea.
Lisa, of Blondie’s BEARista
37. Read, write, meditate/walk in nature.
Charlotte K., of My Pixie Blog
38. I would spend the time daydreaming.
Cathy T., of Just My Thoughts & a Cup of Tea …
39. Actually do my hair and makeup.
Femme F., of Femme Frugality
40. Finish writing my book and smile.
Britt S., of Britt Skrabanek
41. An entire book – start to finish!
Meredith S., of The Mom of the Year
42. Start my “Downton Abbey” box set!
Shannon A., of Radio Chick’s Reflections
43. Paperwork: Reviewed, then filed or recycled.
Kristi B., of Thankful Me
44. Interruptions make life interesting, so nothing.
Jessica A., of Jessica & Love
45. Star Wars movie marathon, who’s in?
Tiffany M., of Sounds Like Life to Me
46. Annihilate my epic to do list!
Holly C., of Simplify Create Inspire
47. Grow flowers – write stories – mend hearts.
Michelle T., of Lipstick and Laundry
48. World domination, or paint the hallway.
Eric W., of All in a Dad’s Work
49. Get lost in a good book.
Katy W., of Stereotypically Able
50. I would organize all the things.
Cassandra, of The Next Delusion
51. Read as many books as possible.
Nina S., of Nina Says
52. Kindle read and binge watch DVR.
Janine H., of Confessions of a Mommyaholic
53. Waste time procrastinating and watching Netflix.
Andrea M., of About 100%
54. Revising my fantasy novel – and reading!
Sara L., of Sara Letourneau’s Official Website and Blog
55. Play the music, write the words!
Les B., of Ink Interrupted
56. I’ll swap complete sentences with hubby!
Julia T., of Diary of a Word Nerd
57. Read books, write stories, organize pictures.
Roxanne P., of Unintentionally Brilliant
58. I’d conquer my to do list.
Sandra, of Strong Enough to Break
59. Most likely a lengthy Thai massage.
Britta B., of It’s a Britta Bottle!
60. Try to take over the world.
Lindsay H., of Mad Tea Party in My Head
61. Finish my novel and pass out.
Andra W., of Andra Watkins blog
62. All day in the bath, reading.
Jenny, of Accidental Hipster Mom
63. In a galaxy far, far away.
Eli P., of Coach Daddy
Just a dad ... 
Michelle made me laugh with ‘rule the world or paint the hallway.’ 🙂
Glad you got to see the movie, and enjoy it. I hope the stressors of life start melting away soon!! It’s going to be a great new year!
There’s some good ones in here, aren’t there? I was nervous that Disney would mishandle the franchise, but I’m happy to say they definitely did not.
I’m going to have faith and be present and see where that takes me, Rosey. Thank you!
Haha! Great list… I guess we all need some more time to read huh?
Oh, my husband and I just about lost it with the “poo in peace” reference, Feels good to know we are not alone…
Happy New Year dear Eli. xoxox
Down time is at a premium, Yanic. Poo in Peace ought to be a greeting new parents should bestow upon each other. Happy new year to you, too.
We saw the new Star Wars movie in IMAX and 3D the day after it came out and am still reeling from it. Seriously, was one of the best afternoon diversions, I too have had in a long time here, as well. So just couldn’t agree more with your assessment and tears were totally shed here, too by the way. Cannot wait for the next installment now! 😉
It’s not like a run of the mill movie experience, is it? It was great timing for me, and glad it was for you, too.
I considered a post called “why dad cried a little at Star Wars” … might still. I’ve loved reading the analysis of this one – remember we had to wait so long for Empire Strikes Back?
Totally remember and would love love to read that post now!!
It’s officially on my ideas list, Janine.
Awesome and cannot wait to read it now!!!
Funny how so many people said they would read or sleep. 😀
Those moments of living in the now and the past at the same time are few and far between. I’d love to go back and relive many moments, but then I’d be without the people I love now. Those few moments of both are awesome.
I pray your coming year is peaceful and full of wonderful moments.
i just saw star wars last night, with one of my daughters and a grandson. like you, i was struck by a mix of emotions, and seeing it as a 3 generation team ,made it all the more emotionally powerful. i had the chance to explain to my grandson how i took his mother, when we were both so young, to see the original Star Wars trilogy, and to see how excited he was about this one, and to watch her reaction as she stepped back in time for a couple of hours too. love this post and thanks for including me, i look forward to visiting bloggers who are new to me –
Love that you had multiple generations, beth. I didn’t expect the reaction to be this strong, actually. Not that I was sobbing, but I did bite my lip during one scene in particular.
(you could probably guess.)
Kids now did get some of the anticipation we did. Some of it felt quite familiar.
You’re going to love Kate and Lisa.
Love the way you interrupt us.
I am a bit disruptive, aren’t I? Sorry. Kinda.
Not really.
Not disruptive. You just redirect our attention in the best ways.
I’m just glad to have your attention!
So many books to read out there! i didn’t even THINK of reading 😮
Glad you got to immerse yourself in the (Star Wars) Universe for a while, and even though I don’t know a thing about it, I think it’s totally decent to cry. I shed tears for E.T.!
Here’s to 2016, the year that’s going to bring 12 no interruption half-days. We can do that, right? One afternoon a month to do as we please and recharge!
I need a book of books to keep a list of books. It was just … I know it sounds wimpy for guys to actually feel emotions, but the boy in me definitely was in attendance that day.
I like that idea, one afternoon a month for this? That’s not too much to ask. At all.
Yay for the return to the Galaxy for you, Eli! WA-HOO!! And I love that so many of our dreams for uninterrupted time are for the same simple things 🙂 Thanks for hosting!
Like I was six again! I even wore a pair of Star Wars shoes (I need to post that to social media.)
We basically want to lay around and relax, except for the couple of try-hards who have world domination on their minds.
Thanks for taking part again, Meredith.
I love how so many of these revolve around reading and sleeping! And yes, I know what you mean about watching The Force Awakens and seeing all those old friends back on screen. I think for me, that was the most satisfying part. I’m glad you got to share that with your kids.
Not a single one about smoking or transacting organs on the black market. Think Han and Chewie were as glad to see us as we were, them?
The new characters were instantly lovable, too. My kids are Star Wars fans through me, although I don’t think the gravity of it all had the pull it did on me, obviously.
Lots of reading and sleeping going on. A sign of the times?
I noticed that trend. Maybe we all need to just lay down.
Thank you for hosting, Eli! These are all terrific!
I just saw “The Force Awakens” the other day, and I know exactly how you felt. I felt the same way. It was heartwarming to see the cast from the previous movies. The tears came for me as well, and for my husband.
Happy holidays to you and your family. May 2016 be a beautiful year for you. 🙂
Thank you for playing, Shan. Not a bad collection this time, right? I know I’m not the only one who felt it when it came to that movie.
They’re long lost friends, those original characters. I still remember when there were only like 12 Star Wars figures!
I don’t even know if the kids today have something similar. X-men?
Happy holidays to you too, Shannon. Love having you around.
Made me smile at how many said they would read a whole book, or several!!
So many great ideas here. And I am so glad you were able to escape for a while and enjoy Star Wars. What a treat- with your amazing daughters too!!
Many blessings on your New Year!!
Thanks so much Eli, for all you are doing here in the blogging world!
Vicki
This is a bookly group, isn’t it? Not anyone mentioned anything felonous this time, either.
Star Wars didn’t get off to a great start for us. I thought I’d bought us back-row tickets – but instead, we were down in front!
All the best to you in 2016, Vicki. Thanks for spending time with me.
It sure is… OOOO.. that front row stinks!!
And thank you for your encouragement along the way!! Looking forward to 2016!!
I’m hoping for all the best next year, Vicki, for you and for me.
Reblogged this on HORSES DIRT AND MOTHERHOOD and commented:
I love Coach Daddy’s blog. Eli is an awesome writer and he has been doing this six word post for some time now. It always makes me smile to see so many different takes on this six words. Enjoy this one!
Blessings,
Vicki
Thanks for the reblog, Vicki, and for taking part again. I’m glad you get a smile out of these posts, too.
Ah, it was a glorious movie. The good, the bad, the heroes journey, brave new characters, and our familiar beloved ones; it had it all. I just about got my wish yesterday of having an uninterrupted day- it was a partial day of no interruptions. I visited with a dear distant friend on the phone, got a little bit of stuff done that’s been needing to be done for a while, enjoyed being able to write without interruption, and relaxed watching some TV. Oh the things I could accomplish if I’d had a week of this…
Wasn’t it? I loved the new characters instantly, Rey in particular. I don’t do well without interruptions – I tend to create my own if I’m not racing against the clock.
I think the key to feeling you got something done is to see the value in what you did get done. If you don’t, you’ll just wish for the time back.
If I had an uninterrupted week, I’m positive I’d get zero done.
Great responses!! Thank you for including mine 🙂 Oh, and I cried during Star Wars: The Force Awakens too. You were not alone.
Glad you liked them, Amber. Glad to have you along. We should start a support group for Star Wars criers. Indeed, we are not alone.
Such similar minds here.
It’s downright cultish, Lisa.
Great list! So glad that I got to be a part of it! 🙂
You all really brought it. Thanks for joining the crew.
Anytime! That was fun!
I’ll resend you the January prompt … there’s a clarification in there!
Okie dokie. I’ll get back to it in a few days. I’m traveling all day tomorrow and spending time with family tonight
Hope you’ve had a great trip.
I did! Not gonna lie though I don’t want to go back to this adulting thing lol
Especially after what happened to the Ducks, Katy. Should I not mention that?
BAHAHAHAHA uh yeah that was horrible and I put the blame solely on them for that one lol
Can’t win them all! At least you beat Oregon State.
That is true lol
I’d rather lose all my games and beat my rival, than win them all and lose just to my rival. That’s troublesome and backward, I realize.
Your intro was beautiful Eli – I love how you described the significance of watching Star Wars with your girls. They might not get it, but we 40+ folks do. 😉 I liked Rey too – and so did my daughter. Girl Power!!
I don’t know what the tides are crashing against you right now, but I do hope they stop soon, and that the New Year brings you peace and purpose. Thanks for including me again.
Thanks Julia – it was definitely a moment. We Gen Xers shared mileposts when those first three movies came out.
Rey was the ultimate girl power. Cool thing is, our kids don’t think anything of a heroine. It’s expected.
I appreciate your words … I’m just trying to manage the tide and keep my eyes on the shore.
Thanks for being here.
Reblogged this on Stereotypically Able and commented:
A blog that I had the honor of participating in. How would you spend your day if you had a day full of no interruptions?
Thanks for participating, Katy, and for sharing this with your readers!
No prob!
Lots of reading and writing and only two Stars Wars references… LOVE it! Thank you again for the invite. I love participating.
.
I would have been good with more Star Wars references, Tiffany. Thanks for your stellar contribution.
I love that so many of the contributors said they’d lose themselves in a book. Book nerds unite! 🙂
We’re not exactly street tough around here, are we Andrea? Not anyone said anything about larceny or grand theft auto.
Group trip to see SW:TFA for another viewing! I call shotgun.
What a great gathering of six word sentences this time. Next time, we should let autocorrect write them for us!
We could probably occupy an entire row, couldn’t we Kim? I’m glad you liked this rendition. Autocorrect might make for a PG-14/Rated R post!
Lots of reading, writing, and sleeping here! Glad to know we have our priorities in order. 🙂 Also, glad you enjoyed the reprieve from stress that movie provided.
Reading, writing and sleeping seem to bond us, Lisa. It used to be heavy on wine, but maybe we’ve reformed.
If I could only bottle that magic from the theater … and use it to guide me when I bumble my way through life.
Doing something fun with my kids. I’m usually the one who interrupts those moments because I have too much to do.
Great idea, Christi. To put the world on hold and just be with our kids is priceless.
Despite what I said here, as I watch the kids roll around outside in the snow, I will make a coffee and catch up on blog reading. It’s good. 🙂
Sounds good to me, Rore.
I cried at Star Wars too. I cry, is actually the name of the blog post I’m writing right now for tonight or so!
I like what I said. But I could have done it 7,000 other ways. Ya know?
Many of us did. I’ll check out your cry post, Tamara. Most of what we do can be done 7,000 ways – why do we pick the one we do? Every second could alter our futures forever.
I saw Star Wars with my kids last week, and I also cried. It was surreal sitting there, watching the same characters I watched when I was younger than my kids are…
We’re not alone, Dana. I definitely didn’t expect that reaction from me, but it was genuine.
Happy New year to you and family and happy holidays.
‘ Love interruption from family and friends.’
Same to you, Indira! And thank you for the contribution.
Thanks.