Video Games are a Way In

I'm divorced, and in the summer my kid spends half of his time at his Dad's. One of the ways we connect and hang out when he's there is to play Minecraft.

Last week, I called him for tech support, and he invited me to play on the Minecraft server he set up for his friends. "Why, yes, of course, I'll be happy to play in the exclusive world of the middle school boy."

He was showing me all the awesome redstone contraptions and builds he'd been working on.

I figured at some point I would be pranked, killed, trapped or something. I just didn't know when.

I wasn't ready for it.

And it was awesome. He really got me. 

I was SOOOO proud of myself. I was able to laugh and appreciate the joke. Two years ago, I would have had a different reaction. One a bit more...stern...shall we say.

OK. I'll admit it. I would have been pissed. Upset. A bit irrational.

One of the gifts of gaming has been to become less attached to winning and to enjoy the journey more. It's on the journey that the moments of connection that we remember happen.

And I'm grateful for them.

I miss my kid when he's gone. So, I'm also grateful we have this way to play together. And even more grateful that he still wants to play with me.

Video games are a way in, if you let them be.