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And yet, here I am.
I now know who, Pidgey, Rattata, Venonat and Bulbasaur are. Pokedex, PokeStop, lure module, combat power, and Razz Berry have all entered my daily vocabulary. I’ve learned that a gym can mean something entirely different, where fierce battles of another kind take place. Oh, and that candy is necessary for evolution.
I know. Crazy.
It started a little over a week ago when my oldest son, home from college, burst through the door and started rambling about augmented reality, Pikachu, a new app for his phone, best game ever and on and on. I nodded and smiled and said, “OK, honey. Have fun with that,” and went about my day.
Three days later, I was attending a Catholic youth conference with upwards of 3000 teenagers, and this Pokémon thing was all the craze. Kids were walking everywhere trying to catch them. Our weekend MC was joking about them. Everyone was tweeting about them. And my next two older boys, and their friends, were absolutely engrossed with the game. Again, I shook my head, not understanding the lure.
Three days after that, I was with one of my boys as he drove to meet some friends. While he was driving he was asking me to catch Pokémon for him. PSA: No catching Pokémon while driving. When we reached our location his friends were 20 minutes out yet. So to pass the time I said to Noah, “Well, you might as well show me how to play this game.”
His whole face lit up. You would have thought it was Christmas morning.
So he helped me set up my account and showed me all the basics of what to do. We sat there laughing and jamming to the Pokémon theme song. Noah even snapchatted a picture of me playing Pokémon Go to all of his friends. Now, that’s a huge deal, for a teenage boy to send a Snapchat of his mom!
“It’s pretty cool, that you’re playing now,” was the sentiment echoed by all my boys. And, they’re right. I am a pretty cool mom. But it’s not about being cool… it’s about being connected.
I’ve never been much of a gamer, unless you count my Ms. Pac-Man years. (Of which, I totally rocked by the way.) So when my husband started playing the popular phone game Clash of Clans with our boys 2 years ago, I didn’t get it. I would watch him and our 4 boys huddled together “attacking” imaginary bases, with imaginary troops, hog riders and golems. It would annoy me to know end, the hours they would all play this silly phone game. I completely failed to see the value in the activity.
But they were laughing. They were bonding. They were connecting.
While it is definitely true that parents desire to somehow connect with their kids, I think sometimes we fail to realize or remember that our children have the same deep desire to connect with us. Yes, even despite the eye rolls or slammed doors.
Maybe this connection will be in the form of sharing a meal, talking about their day, walking the dogs together or giving them a hug. Or maybe, it’s something altogether different. Something that is more on their terms than ours. Something that invites us into their world and to meet them where they are.
And in our house, at least for now, that would be playing Pokémon Go. It's simple, fun and active. And at the end of the day, we’re playing together, making memories… connecting. Isn't that what it's all about it?
Ooops! There goes an Eevee. “Boys, let’s go catch it!”
