My Little Boy is Growing Up
Okay, he's 11 years old. On Friday he finishes elementary school and will be moving on to middle school. He's already about an inch taller than my mom. But the biggest indication I've had that he was growing up came last night.
I was showing him how to play interactive fiction games (text adventures) on my computer at home. He wasn't all that jazzed about it, but he gave it a shot (too much typing, he said) with my insistence. I left him playing one where he was trapped in a cave (not Zork) while I went to make dinner.
I heard some sounds of frustration coming from my room, so I went to investigate. He told me "I tried 'go forward', 'up', 'down', everything I can think of but I can't leave this room!" I quickly scanned the list of things he had tried and about five down was 'fuck'. That's it. No real context (like "fuck this for a lark, I'm off!", or "fuck the darkness"), just an exclamation of frustration.
My eyes widened. His eyes widened. I pointed to it on the screen while looking at him. He stammered out "I'm sorry". I told him that I realize that he knows those words (with me as a dad, how could he not?) but I would prefer that he not use them until he's older. He agreed, but really I have no idea what goes on in his life when I'm not there. It's kinda scary.
If a tree falls in a forest but there is nobody around to hear it does it make a sound? It does. It sounds like "fuck!"
Yep. My little boy is growing up.
I was showing him how to play interactive fiction games (text adventures) on my computer at home. He wasn't all that jazzed about it, but he gave it a shot (too much typing, he said) with my insistence. I left him playing one where he was trapped in a cave (not Zork) while I went to make dinner.
I heard some sounds of frustration coming from my room, so I went to investigate. He told me "I tried 'go forward', 'up', 'down', everything I can think of but I can't leave this room!" I quickly scanned the list of things he had tried and about five down was 'fuck'. That's it. No real context (like "fuck this for a lark, I'm off!", or "fuck the darkness"), just an exclamation of frustration.
My eyes widened. His eyes widened. I pointed to it on the screen while looking at him. He stammered out "I'm sorry". I told him that I realize that he knows those words (with me as a dad, how could he not?) but I would prefer that he not use them until he's older. He agreed, but really I have no idea what goes on in his life when I'm not there. It's kinda scary.
If a tree falls in a forest but there is nobody around to hear it does it make a sound? It does. It sounds like "fuck!"
Yep. My little boy is growing up.
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