Interesting Surroundings

I’m sitting here watching my 3 year old and 5 year old play with magnet blocks as my 1.5 year old sleeps peacefully on the couch. My wife and I just had a micro-spat as a result of frustration with life. Its normal to have conversations like that, but they have to contain respect. Show me a loving couple that never have disgreements and I will show you my unicorn.

My wife is trying to work a little bit today to offset the hours I consistently put in. I work a lot. She has a remarkable heart and will to help wherever she can. She also likes the occasional coffee from Biggby, or to be told shes pretty. Above all-shes a simple complication. She doesn’t ask for much, but expects alot. I get it tho-I am the same way.

I sit here and start to conjure up a concept. Something I think has been created and designed unintentionally by the creator of Minecraft. Yeah-the block game, movie and obsession of people worldwide, that Minecraft. I watch #RENNYTOK carefully choose his blocks as he begins his build on the booger coated dining room table. He begins his creation around breadcrumbs, water stains and something that resembles dried ketchup.

He starts putting the blocks together into patterns that I never would have considered at his age, nor now. I watch #RUDYTOK attempt to mimic her big brothers commitment to the game. He builds remarkable things with these square, lifeless plastic cubes with magnets in them. I am always amazed at what he comes up with. Yes-he is 5 and I am proud of him and his abilities. His uncanny ability to take joy for hours from a box of blocks bought off a social media platform for 20 bucks.

His sister-still watching, building, processing and thinking. He is now on his “-nth” creation after building Creepers, Angry Steve and a “Wind Tree”. Rudy takes a bite out of her sandwich smathered with peanut butter and smashed bananas “Renny-that looks so awesome, I want to build that too”.

He responds with “here let me show you how”…..this is why mom is the hero. She gets to teach manners and kindness. She teaches patience, even when she loses her shit. Our daughter graciously accepts his offer with a thank you and learns something new. He gets to teach, I get to see the fruits of mom’s labor, our baby gets to nap while I spend some time being jealous as I sit at the table instead of sleeping too. (I could sleep for days at any point unprompted). Mom is at her other other hustle.

Something I think we take for granted as we get older however. We focus so hard on the world around us in 3 or 4 dimensions. Everything is an expected tangible object that we can see, hear, touch, smell etc. We see something already “built” and admire the beauty or architecture of said item, but rarely are we able to see things from the beginning.

In a world of tech, we see how a television program or video game is in its final stage. (I am currently playtesting 2 games for EA games) and already notice the changes based on previous titles of  the games I have played.

The playability, the controls in their most simple or challenging form. But Ren, he takes a green block-and next thing you know we have a replica of Spongebob’s house….or a scene from the Mario Bros. movie. I owe the ability as a parent to identify with these creations as a grown adult-because our children show us these creations start to finish-beginning with one simple green block.

As we age, our imagination wanes because we can afford the final product. If we can’t then we simply crave or at the very least admire it. Children however create what they desire. At a certain age, we lose the kids to school, technology, social media and the “leaderdhip of others”. Someone else furthers their education as we loosen our grip. Someone else teaches them how to prepare for life and at some point the switch flips from being young and curious-to the trail blazers of society-they lose innocence and begin their life long training in order to make someone else money.

Even schools take the joys away due to budget cuts. Corporations gouge communities by charging high rates for annual subscriptions to computer programs and soft/hardware. The money is pulled from band, woodshop and the pockets of the educators so that they can continue to operate. Schools are mills for America and prepare our youth for a lifetime of disappointment and regret.

Here is where Minecraft comes in though. To see a flat character become something that we can identify with. As these inatimate blocks become an entire world build including square pigs, trees and houses we are able to recognize and retuen to the youth that so many of us remember and miss. Streetlights, BMX scars on our shins, elbow scabs, dolls and the smell of fresh cut grass are what  I can remember. When the world shuts the lights off outside, was mybopportunity to build creations-but my blocks always turned intk a spaceship-or a prison for my “guy dolls”.

Being able to watch them connect our brains to theirs is remarkable. Yelling at our children after a 12 hour day as they try to show us everything they did for the 12 hours we were away, robs them of they joy they had to occupy their time while they missed their hero. I say this after making the statement “daddy’s busy” and remembering-my imagination was once very much the same…..they don’t choose to watch their moms/dads go to work and be away all day. They choose to share their joy and imagination with us.

Reset; Relearn; Respond. Find the joy and take the time. Someday, while our chidren sit in the office at their job-they will remember all the fun weird stuff they did before we died. They WILL miss us, they will understand how much it sucks to be away from them all day as they too toil away missing their own children. Someday they too will “understand” why we are always budy….and that is a difficult square pill tonswallow.