He Is Only Three, Maybe We Can Cut Him Some Slack

Over the past few months Barak has shown great interest in sitting along side of me while I play video games on my XBOX 360. It's pretty cool, he will sit with a controller in his hand and tell me what he thinks I should do. Every once in a while he will instruct me to let the bad guys win and I have to explain to him that if that happens we would lose. He hates losing so he quickly changes gears.

Last night we went to Blockbuster and he picked out a game we could play together. It came down between Lego Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Spider Man. He emphatically chose the Spider Man game. We got home, fired it up and in a flash of an eye, the little boy who use to be so dependent on me feeding him a bottle was now playing co-op with me on a video game.

Now, don't have visions of a gamer genius because he is everything but. His main goal is to just follow my character around. He can only handle one function at a time. Either he punches or he walks. Never at the same time. I found myself at times a little frustrated that he couldn't keep up. Then the thought occurred to me:

"BAG, HE IS A THREE YEAR OLD BOY. CUT HIM SOME SLACK."

The truth is he is not mature enough to understand the complexity of the games. (Just like some of the people who can frustrate you so much. Maybe they are like a three year old emotionally and can't comprehend what you are wanting them to do.)

As I was going to bed thinking about this experience with Barak, the thought occurred to me. This isn't about the work, it's about the time. The time we get to spend with each other. Battling with each other. High five-ing in the victories and restarting the battles together. This moment is much deeper than playing video games. It is teaching us how to enjoy each other in very special ways. So instead of me cutting him some slack, I hope that he will cut me some.

Heart and Soul,
BAG
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