Connecting Through Star Wars, Part III: Bonding as Podcasters by Johnamarie Macias

In fact, online is how a lot fans become friends, couples, and even parents themselves. Take MakingStarWars.net’s Jason and Amanda Ward, for example. They initially became friends through a Star Wars forum in 2003, and today, they’re loving parents of two children, showering them with all things Star Wars. They’re the perfect example of how Star Wars transcends distance, and later on, connects through the generations–like me and my mom.

Her first experience with Star Wars was on the big screen in the late 70s, and even though she didn’t become a hardcord fan, it made an impression long enough to affect me when I eventually came into the picture.

“The reason I said yes without thinking–without questioning–it’s because as children grow older, they tend to have and develop their own relationships and their own lives,” my mom said during the fan question portion of one of our podcasts, where a listener had asked us what we had enjoyed the most about starting Rebels Chat. “It is more difficult for a parent to hold onto that relationship–that connection–that they may have had when the children were ten, twelve. That closeness. So if it takes 45 minutes [or] an hour of being silly, of hearing my so-full-of-herself daughter saying all these names that I have no freaking clue what she’s talking about, then you know what? I’ll take that opportunity anytime without thinking it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

Without a doubt, my favorite experience about podcasting with my mom is that I get to spend more time with her, talking about the thing I love most. Not everyone gets Star Wars, but the people who do, like my mom, go the extra mile to make that connection. It’s that common thread that binds us, much like the Force, and keeps us together.

My mom and I enjoying the Star Wars Rebels season one finale.

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Johnamarie is the owner of TheWookieeGunner.com. She is a content contributor for Making Star Wars, Star Wars Report, and Fangirl Next Door. She is also a co-host on “Now, This Is Podcasting!” and “Rebels Chat”.