How to celebrate birthdays - Minecraft style

I had a birthday last week, and my son worked many days to make it special. And he did an excellent job. It was wonderful.

The day began with a hand-painted card. I had to decipher some of the text!

Then, we hopped onto a family Minecraft game, as we do when we have a bit of time, and suddenly "Happy Birthday, Velma" appeared on the screen, the sky went fuschia and teal (my brand colors if you haven't noticed), and then color coordinated fireworks lit up the sky! They led me to a village with nothing but cherry trees and the prettiest houses I'd ever seen. He'd made a Mama Mavel dimension and biome for Minecraft!

None of this is easy to do. So, yes, I'm bragging on my kid a bit. He made a custom data pack that modified the game instance. It took all week. I saw him working, getting help from Scott, troubleshooting, while not letting me know exactly what he was working on. It had to be a surprise. He worked hard, figured it out and was really proud of himself. I'm really proud of him, too.

Lastly, the day ended with extra good night hugs. I feel very lucky and grateful to have such a thoughtful and creative kid.

I also recognize that the hours, days, weeks I've put in to understanding his tech and gaming world has kept our connection open and fostered his creativity.  I'm so excited to see where his curiosity leads him, and am glad he welcomes me along for the ride.