Nintendo

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I sat here in my living room and watched 5-year-old Eric and 4-year-old Brigham play Nintendo last night. Not the complicated, 3-dimensional Nintendo with 'perfect' lifelike graphics - but the 1983 version with only 5 buttons on the controller. Memories came flooding to my mind as I listened to their conversations - I could feel their excitement...I remember that excitement.

Eric reminded me so much of myself: encouraging his little brother to jump a little further, and run a little faster, yet itching to get the controller back into his own hands.
Eric: You can DO it, Briggie! I know you can do it! Just run and jump - WAIT! Okay, now back up a little bit......
Eric couldn't sit still as he coached.

My mind flashed back to 1995: I was 13 years old on a Sunday afternoon. Church was over, and our family was just finishing up our Sunday dinner of roast and mashed potatoes.
"Brian!" I said to my 8 year old brother, "Hurry up and finish so we can go play Nintendo!" What I meant by 'so we can go play Nintendo' was really, 'so you can come and watch me play Nintendo.' I didn't need to explain this, however, because it was already understood. Brian loved to watch me play almost as much as I loved playing. And the times I loved the Nintendo the most were when my brother was sitting there with me. He would be dramatic if I died, he would cheer if I passed a 'hard spot', and he would tolerate an occasional punch in the shoulder if I got really frustrated. I still see him rocking back and forth on all fours, shaking his head in anticipation as I approached a 'hard spot'. "Okay, you've just gotta JUMP!" he said. I nodded my head in agreement as if I hadn't thought of that before.

Our excitement drew my sisters into the room as well. Pretty soon, all four of us were screaming, laughing, jumping and cheering in response to Mario. Jumping up to our feet with each near-miss, and falling to the ground with every lost life.

This is one of my most precious memories.

I felt nostalgic last night. And I wondered, "Where does the innocence of childhood go?" I can never recreate that memory. My 8 year old brother is now 20...our lives are so different now. And yet...

Later that night, after all the children had gone to sleep, I watched my husband and his good friend, Eric (Eric's and Brigham's dad), play the same game. And how funny! There were times when their excitement reached the same level as the boys' had hours earlier. Their voices were excited, and the controllers were occasionally thrown up into the air...
Brian: Okay, Dude, you've just gotta hit that block, then jump --- OHHHHHH!!!! Now you've made it hard! It's okay, it's okay - you can still do it...........
Eric's eyes squinted in concentration and he leaned in closer to the TV....
- True - as a whole it was generally more subdued. But it made me think:

Maybe we can carry a piece of childhood with us - forever.
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