XBox Drama

he first time Robby asked me to play XBox with him I simply explained that "Momom doesn't play XBox." I never offered a more detailed explanation, and thankfully he just accepted this as fact. I knew that if Robby believed that I could participate that I would quickly become bombarded with pleas to play. Wanting to avoid constant harassment to join various virtual worlds, I figured it was easier to set a precedent at the beginning.

My claiming XBox ignorance is not much of a stretch from reality. If I wanted to I'm sure I could figure out the games and the controller. But since Scott enjoys the games, and Robby enjoys playing them with his Daddy, I never felt compelled to try. The two have spent countless summer nights playing games on the console, filling the living room with shouts of directions, celebrations of victory and more high five exchanges than I could count. Seeing both of them so animated while playing always makes me smile.

A few nights ago the sounds of XBox playing were filling the air. Both boys were battling fierce robots, although to be honest I'm not sure of their ultimate goal. They seemed to be winning, but in a flash Robby put down his XBox controller and sprinted to his bedroom. Scott sighed and explained that the "ant lion" had died in the battle.

We found Robby hiding in his race car bed, crying while clutching Black Bear.  Robby explained that "The ant lion was my friend. I named him Jeffrey and I killed him. I threw the magic ball, but I didn't think that he would be stupid enough to run into the laser."

I have to be honest and admit that I had no idea what Robby was talking about. Completely out of my element, I had to let Scott take the lead. Thankfully Scott understood the game and was able to provide some solace and comfort. I still don't know how, but Scott was able to convince Robby that Jeffrey was okay.

Who would have thought that an XBox game would create such emotional turmoil. After all, I mistakenly thought that games were supposed to be fun.  Have I mentioned that I don't understand the XBox games?