The Things We Do For Love
I have a confession. I had this entire post planned out. Really, REALLY planned out! In the planned post, I had several witty quips about how we parents will do just about anything for our beloved children. Among other things, I’ve memorized every train in the Thomas series, searched high and low for a ratty old panda bear, and endured hour after hour of Strawberry Shortcake’s theme song, all for the sakes of my 3 cherished children.
It was therefore expected (by yours truly) that I had just cracked open the shell of a new stage of endurance for my eldest child. His newest passion, Dungeons and Dragons, is one that I whole-heartedly support. When my child who proclaims to have no imagination (not true) or creative ability developed a love for this time-honored tradition of middle-school boys since 1974, I saw the opportunity for him to enjoy an activity that isn’t attached to a screen or electronic device of any sort… and I JUMPED ON IT.
Christmas morning found my 11 year old (almost 12! Sob!) son shrieking with joy over the red box starter set, player handbook and set of mini figures his family had purchased. Hours of reading and planning and plotting later, he had helped my husband, middle son and me create “characters” for our first adventure. My husband and I smirked at each other in happy misery. We knew all too well just how involved Justin can become in a passion and foresaw months and months of “having” to role-play battles against mythological creatures. I figured that the new and fully-stocked wine-rack that I had just received for Christmas would be much appreciated in the coming months…
Confession time: I was wrong. I was wrong and I’m sorry! My heartiest apologies to all of the role-playing gamers that I internally mocked since 6th grade. I understand now how fun it can be to just play a game for the sake of playing. We are playing TOGETHER and conquering creatures as a team! We’re doing math and using logic to solve mysteries. We are using our imaginations and spending time as a family and really, that’s pretty freaking amazing.
2nd Confession time: I just spent an hour in my room, all alone, concocting my first mini-quest. Seriously. But when you really think about it, for a person who loves to write and create stories about her own family (I mean, we’re not really all THAT funny or interesting. An occasional writer’s liberty has been taken on a story or 2 throughout my blogging history…), this is a perfect fit.
The fact that Justin is THRILLED that his mom finally likes something that he loves is a bonus that cannot be measured in mere words.
Category: Mom Challenges, New Posts, teens, tweens
my boys are just getting into pokemon and bakugan and it makes me head spin. my oldest is also really into sports and that is a language I can understand! I think its great when we really love something they love, its much easier. But I also try to learn and appreciate the other things too, but it IS so much easier when its a genuine shared joy!!!
Enjoy. It’s great to find something that brings the family together. My step-son is 31, makes a great living at Microsoft and still enjoys playing D&D.