guest post: future geek

The hubs guest-blogged for me again since I had class. Enjoy! - Alicia

It’s the hubs again, here to talk about all of our hopes and dreams for the future. Nothing important, right?

I have very few true hopes for my child. In general, I’ll be happy if he’s happy. Well… happy and productive. None of this “but I’m happy living in your basement and playing video games!” stuff. Other than that: doctor, dancer, weatherman, athlete, poet, actor, garbage man, factory worker… whatever. All good. Sure, we’d like him to avoid the more injury-prone pursuits, like football or car racing..

One thing I truly hope about my child (all my children, however many there may end up being) is that he is a geek.

Hello, my name is Dave, and I’m a geek.

Sure, these days being a “geek” is some new kind of cool. Like “hipsterism” and “emo” or something. I might be a little out of touch. You find them all over the TV with Big Bang Theory, Chuck, or Professional Wrestling. Though really, that’s all not really geek to me. Geekiness has nothing to do with intelligence (just ask my friends), but rather is defined by a great love of something(s) that seems silly or unsocial to others. Trekkies, Star Warsians, Harry Potterites (those are the right terms, right?)… all geeks.

To clarify, I’m a D&D geek. I would have accepted being called a Star Wars geek as well, before Lucas went and DESTROYED MY CHILDHOOD WITH THOSE GOD-AWFUL PREQUELS AND… AND JAR-JAR… AND…

…breathe… 

I’m ok now.

I hope that Grayson grows up with a love of a good story, whether that be through books, anime, movies, TV shows… wherever he can get it. To me, though, the best stories are those you get to be a part of. That’s what kept me playing for the last… 28 years. Great. Now I feel old. Thanks, blog.

I love to tell stories for my friends, and let them live them, change them, inject their own stories into them. It’s a true interaction that you can’t get from a movie or video game (though they try).

I bought Grayson his first set of dice last Christmas. I love the idea that he’ll always have a set of dice as old as he is. The first time Grayson left the house without us was when we started playing again nearly a year ago. It’s a big thing for me, and I love the fact that the wife was keen enough on it to try it out way back in the day, and we’ve played together ever since.

I spend time thinking about the kid-friendly adventures I can take him on. How to simplify the system so that he can learn it when he’s 7. I’m sure I’ll tear up the first time he asks me to run a session for him. I like to think that in 15 years he’ll sit at the adult table with us, and in 20 years he’ll come over a few times a month to play.

Is it wrong that my dream for him is that he share my hobby? Is that selfish? Sometimes I ask myself that, but in the long run it’s me wanting to share something with my child, something that has given me a lifetime of enjoyment and some of my best friends.

(And yes, blogging is just an excuse to paste my kid's head on random other pictures.)

-Dave