My love for these games is back...

jow

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Thanks to my 2 year old son, my love for these arcade games has come back :)

Not to bore anyone, but the last year and a half has been pretty trying for our family. My wife's grandparents (who she was very, very close with) passed away, we lost our home, I lost my job, etc so things were really weird for a while (financially anyway, and the whole "fear of the unknown").

I sold a bunch of games to shore up a bunch of old college debt, and my passion/love/caring for this hobby pretty much went by the wayside. I didn't care about video games in general. Our main goal was to figure everything out, pick up all the pieces of everything, and get back to "normal." That has happened -- I found a new job and our housing situation is figured out -- and things are finally starting to be how they used to.

Luckily - for whatever reason - I kept a couple of the games around, and now that all of the dust from the past 18 months has settled, I'm sure glad I did.

My games haven't been touched in months. Literally, they have just sat there unloved, ignored, all by their lonesome. A couple weekends ago, out of the blue my 2 year old came up to me one night after I got home from work and asked "Daddy... can I pay (yes, pay) games?". I had come off a long day, and didn't really feel like firing all of them up, so I brought him into the game room, and turned on the red tent. I figured that would be easiest for him to pull his chair up to, he would mess with it for a couple seconds, and then be disinterested and we could turn it off. For the next 30 mins or so, I heard nothing but laughter, and yelling (GO! GO!) coming from the other room. My wife and I were in the other room finishing cleaning up after dinner, when Sam starting yelling "Daddy! Come here! Looooook!". I walked in, and much to my surprise, he was figuring out how to play Vs. Goonies. This is a 2 year old kid, who has never touched a video game ever, and he was walking up and down ladders, figured out how to jump, and figured out how to kick enemies. I was in awe. That feeling of first playing video games from when I was a kid came back to me, and this overwhelming sense of peace and happiness that I hadn't felt in a long time over these games was back. He was so excited doing all of this. It was awesome. He played for a little while longer until it was bedtime, and we shut the game off. The next night when I came home from work, he ran up, gave me a hug and said "Dad, can I pay (yes pay again) Ice Cream?". What was he talking about? Play Ice Cream? He walked into the game room and pointed at the Food Fight side art. It was hilarious. I figured what the hell, these other games haven't been on in months, whats it going to hurt? I turned them on, and he was mesmerized. I pulled a chair up to the Food Fight cab, and in 15 minutes he figured out how to pass the 1st 2 screens. Awesome. After watching him, and trying to help him figure everything out, he looked at me and said "Dad, pay the bike." Yes, he wanted me to play Paperboy which was right next to him playing Food Fight. As soon as I started playing, he stopped, and started watched my game. He was laughing, pointing, talking to the game. Every day I finished he would look at me and say "good job, Dad! High five!" and would give me a high five. It was something I had (obviously) never experienced with my son and it was something I really, really enjoyed.

So yeah, long rambling story short, the games have been on almost every day now these passed two weeks thanks to Sam, and Im so thankful for it. We have had a blast playing them again, and that love that brought me into this hobby 7 years ago is back. Im so, so stoked on it.

Thanks buddy!


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Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics. His little brother is only 1, and has no clue what to do with these things. Like everything else Sam does, Joey just likes to follow and do what his big brother is doing. He's such the little brother, its hilarious.

Good times :)
 
Jow,

That is such a nice story. It is amazing how much we can learn from our kids... or re-learn. With all the day to day grind of being adults we forget about how wonderful some of the simple things are! It sounds like a great way to have fun with your boys as well!

I'm glad to hear things are getting back to normal for you and your family both in housing and financially... :)
 
Great story!! I'm also glad to hear you are in a good place again in life. You derserve it, no matter what Phet says about you.
 
It is amazing how much we can learn from our kids... or re-learn. With all the day to day grind of being adults we forget about how wonderful some of the simple things are!

So very, very true.
 
Good to hear man. I had no idea how much you were going through. We've had some rough times lately as well and it's easy to forget to have fun. One thing I've realized is that no matter how much you are going through, if you are with the ones you love you can go through it together and it's livable.

Nice to hear that you have come through on a positive note. Enjoy this time....they grow up so fast!
 
Great story. Glad you are back on your feet. My kids are enjoying the Dr. Mario kit we got from you a while back. My youngest is on a Dig Dug kick right now and he is better than me at it. My daughter and I played pinball and burgertime together last night. I can't get her to learn to group the hot dogs and egg, yet, but hopefully she will stay interested and figure it out. Of all the games you sold, you kept the right ones. Those would be hard to replace.
 
What an awesome story. My family is going through a tough time right now as my father-in-law is terminally ill. So we'll be going through some life-changing transitions this year and everything is sort of up in the air. Your story is definitely encouraging and it reminds us of the things that really matter in life and that there's always hope. Games are an enjoyable bonus, but it's the ones you love that really bring joy. I'm anxious to see how my daughter will respond to my games when she's old enough. Thanks for sharing Jow.
 
What a great story, thanks for sharing that. I remember back to when my son was that age and first discovering my games. Take lots of pictures and remember these times - they go way too fast!

Tom
 
One thing I've realized is that no matter how much you are going through, if you are with the ones you love you can go through it together and it's livable.

it's the ones you love that really bring joy.

This is all so true, too. While all this shit was going on, my wife and I would always sit and say to eachother "why worry about all of this? We have each other, our health, and our amazing sons. Things will work themselves out..."

It sounds so cheeseball, but its so true, and it did. Jobs and homes and games can be replaced. The ones you love cant be.

GO PLAY/ENJOY YOUR GAMES WITH YOUR KIDS TONIGHT! :D
 
Hahahahahaha, you bet :)
LOL, I abolished that rule at the Condocade, it is an arcade not a museum. So glad to hear that things are progressing for you. Does the "housing situation is figured out" mean you are moving to San Diego soon? *crosses fingers*
 
LOL, I abolished that rule at the Condocade, it is an arcade not a museum. So glad to hear that things are progressing for you. Does the "housing situation is figured out" mean you are moving to San Diego soon? *crosses fingers*

He's moving to Southern Indiana where houses are way cheaper, dude. And, no earthquakes. :)
 
Does the "housing situation is figured out" mean you are moving to San Diego soon? *crosses fingers*

Hopefully by August. My wife is contracted through this semester so we have to wait until Summer at the earliest.

He's moving to Southern Indiana where houses are way cheaper, dude. And, no earthquakes. :)

Ive been in earthquakes my whole life, they aren't bad ;) I would for sure move out of California if I had family outside of it. I don't, so I wont.
 
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