JohnnyBGamer

The Christmas Monster

The holidays are a battle. A war filled with presents.

The Christmas list is a list that must be structured to maximize gifts received. I’m not sure what year I learned how much family members spent on me for Christmas, but I did. Strategic planning ensued. I would organize my list so that the most expensive items were at the top of the page. As one would read down the list, the items became cheaper. I would even take this a step further by listing the items retail price. I was a monster, used to three family Christmas events. One with my dad’s parents, one with my mom’s parents, and one with my immediate family.

will-ferrell-elf — Sometimes monsters look cute. I mean, handsome.

My Aunt Jody has no children. She loves giving; she loves Christmas time. On the other side of the Christmas campfire, my mom felt the need to compete with my aunt and grandparents. Growing up, she co-owned a craft business with a friend. My mom would spend hours out in the garage, cutting out craft pieces with her scroll saw. She would then paint these items, piece them together, and then go to a weekend craft show to sell. Generating money for Christmas that we did not have. I remember my Grandma and Grandpa Ayers coming out to help her paint and get items ready to sell. The holidays were stressful for my mom. I’m sure she wouldn’t tell you that. I’m sure as a kid I couldn’t have told you that my mom was stressed over having to compete. But she was.

The gift overload distorted my view of Christmas. The season became all about what I could get. I didn’t see the stress it was causing those around me.

My mom has since learned to let go and not compete. But I’m still learning, shaping, what Christmas looks like for my family. I don’t want Wyatt growing up thinking that Christmas is about maximizing what he can get. Sure, maybe kids do that to a point. But I do not want to raise a Christmas monster.

What does Christmas look like for you and your family? How do you go beyond presents?

Night Terrors

Wyatt had another night terror.

I walked into his room to find him yelling and looking around for something on his pillow. His eyes darting about, as if tormented by unseen things. I asked him for five dollars. Nothing. If he had been awake, that would have brought a quick response. He continued moan-yelling, speaking in an asleep language.

I crawled into bed with him. Rubbed his back. Told him to go to sleep. We laid there for awhile. His eyes darting, refusing to stop their dance. I told him it was okay. Everything was okay.

Growing up, my sister suffered from epilepsy. I have seen things that I wish I could un-see. Prayed desperate prayers to God to take away her seizures. Which he did. But I can’t shake the images of her eyes darting about. Her seizures remind me of my son’s night terrors. Two completely different things, I know. Both haunting.

After awhile the heater kicked on. Wyatt finally calmed down. I left him and got back in bed. My mind awake.

Parenting is hard. I often feel as if I am failing as a dad. And then I have a moment where my son needs me.

I just want to be a good dad. A dad who has an actual relationship with his son. I try to move beyond what was modeled for me. Overcoming the past by active engagement.

The night terrors will one day cease. Wyatt will grow older, mature, and one day move out. I hope that the foundation I am building in our relationship is enough. I don’t want him to realize, as an adult, that he and I have nothing to say. Life is too short and precious for that.

Off Campus: Best Theology Video Games of 2015

Helped work on a Best Theology Video Games of 2015 list with the guys over at Theology Gaming. Want to invite you to check it out. It’s good. Made me want to play Metal Gear Solid V.

I even make the bold claim that Destiny: Taken King is the Best Mirror Of Our Faith Journey. Read to the end.

LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Open World Trailer – Official

Hey kids, you may be too young to see the actual Avengers movies. Blah, blah, blah, age appropriate content, right? How about a sanitized LEGO version? We’ll add humor, Stan Lee, and plenty of time to smash things as the Hulk. What do you say? Is that a yes? Then cool. January 26, 2016 can’t come soon enough.

Better start saving that allowance money.

The Herald Cometh – Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball

In the depths of Bowser’s Castle, no doubt a plan unfolded most dire.

We must strike back at this free-to-play horde, but how, the Nintendo suits inquired.

We will wrap real money purchases in story, with solid mechanics and feel to boot. We will then rake in all the money, and dance upon our loot.

A dog recruited, yes, he will be their undoing.

We will tell a tale of hardship and tears, of a marriage gone awry. Of puppies in need, mini-games will provide their feed, players can haggle till the pups howl high.

Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball, simple yes, but that is what we will call it.

A herald of games to come, the players will never see it coming.

Note: Nintendo Badge Arcade invaded my 3DS last week. A riff on the popular Japanese crane game genre, Nintendo Badge Arcade features:

Solid controls/gameplay mechanics.
Daily Nintendo news and trivia.
Real money transactions. A dollar for five crane drops/plays.
Five free practice plays, on the practice machine, per day.
Nostalgia. Lots of nostalgia.
A rabbit that is as evil as Tom Nook.

The game boils down to using a crane to grab digital badges to decorate your 3DS menu screen. The badges do nothing else. Nothing. But the badges do look cool.

Nintendo has created a unique formula for the free-to-play market. I shudder though to think of what real money transactions will take place in their upcoming Pokémon GO. Gotta catch them all, right?