A Wii Bit Irritating

There were the days when our children were younger and their games weren't that enjoyable.  Mind numbing would describe them better.  Candyland, anyone?  Chutes and Ladders?  Hi-Ho Cherrio?

There's been a shift.  Now instead of boring, they're too hard.

Although entirely too late for our kids, we finally bought a Wii.  They requested games for Christmas:  Mario Kart and Mario Party 8.  On Christmas day, they were so busy with Lego building, the games weren't even opened.  After they were in bed, Adam and I decided to see what Mario Party 8 was all about. 

It's about this-doesn't-make-any-sense-and-I-don't-get-it.

We felt aged.

The colors were bright and flashy, the music was irritating.  Was I in a casino?  Instructions flashed on the screen that we didn't exactly get.  We'd maneuver around only to find we'd made a wrong turn somehow.

Forget it.  We watched a DVD instead which is much less dangerous.

The next morning we told Braeden about it and he gave us a sort of condescending look.  I think he may have actually felt sorry for his poor over-the-hill parents.

Last night the Jorgensen kids were over.  After a brief tutorial where David taught Braeden some basics about his new guitar and tuned it for him, they sat down to play Mario Kart. 

Now I get how to play Mario Kart.  You drive.  And I also know how to drive.  Mostly.

But Mario Kart is out of my skill set.  I always finish 12th.  Which is dead last.  I volley back and forth, crashing into either side.  It takes all my focus and concentration to come in dead last and I usually end up carsick.

These four boys played with ease.  They sat around casually, Wii remotes loosely in hand.  They zipped around the course, talked a little video game trash to each other, told some Chuck Norris jokes.

When the boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris. 

 When Chuck Norris jumps into a lake, he doesn't get wet, the lake gets Chuck Norrised.

Through all of it, they placed in the top four places.

Even when Emma and Freja joined they could hold their own.

Is it the birthright of children born into homes where the internet was as common as refrigeration and indoor plumbing to just naturally get how to play video games?

I wonder.

One of the reasons I even wanted to get a Wii was for the Wii fit.  It sounded great.  I requested one from Adam for Christmas.  Adam and I also tried it out on a recent evening.  I went through the steps of setting it up; endured being weighed.  Then it had me do a test for my balance.  I had to shift my weight from side to side as instructed.  I thought my balance was fine.  Apparently not.  The cheeky little machine asked me if I find myself tripping much when I walk.

I tried to think of a snappy comeback besides, "Oh yeah, well at least I CAN walk."

But I couldn't come up with anything.