Building and breaking and building and breaking and building and breaking and AAAAH! Zombie! And back to building and breaking. That's about the gist of Minecraft, right? Or what used to be called Lego's - minus all the Nether World creatures that Minecraft has come up with to keep kids distracted from the fact they have abandoned their tactile building blocks.
In all seriousness, should I doubt the moral fiber of my children when they giggle at having to kill chickens, cows and sheep in order to survive in the cruel worlds they have just created? Survival is a serious business. Especially when facing the pitfalls of lava, water traps, giant spiders, slime blobs, zombies, skeletons, ender- men, and portholes. Other players can sabotage you and you can sabotage them. Your pet wolves can turn on you at any moment.The villages don't speak your language. Minecraft is a dangerous place.
It is forcing my children to use their imaginations to work together to build communities and they don't even know it. Being underhanded and sneaky to teach my children valuable lessons is my job, Minecraft! You have to build everything from scratch. And being block shaped, that's not always easy. But in order to build and fabricate you first need to collect the necessary items. And to collect the necessary items you mine, find or kill for them.
Minecraft is the first game in a long time that all three of my kids will sit and play together without arguing about turns, without getting in each other's way, and a game in which if one child leaves the arena it doesn't ruin it for everybody else. It has really put a damper on my quiet time because no one is ever in time out. I suppose I really shouldn't complain too much. It has been a while since I have stepped barefoot on a Lego piece in the middle of the night or sucked one up in my vacuum cleaner, never to be heard from again. Plus, we didn't buy them the game until they earned the money for it in the first place. That was a lot of dog poop they picked up.
So, I guess while I don't totally get it, because maybe my adult brain just can't wrap itself around the point of it all, the kids seem to really enjoy it. And they are playing nicely together for once. And maybe all that practice with the Lego's and Lincoln Logs came in handy because they have built some pretty awesome structures and their problem solving skills are pretty impressive. (Go Mom!)
So maybe they can play Minecraft for just a little longer today...
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Open Letter to my HOA
Dear Settler's Village HOA,
I am so pleased that you decided to remodel our pool so that the families of our community could enjoy a refreshing swim during the hot and humid Texas Summer months. You couldn't have picked a better time of year to do the renovations either. Summer is the perfect time. There are no school kids walking to and from school to get in the way. No buses making a lot of noise. And you know for sure that it won't be too cold to work outside and there is no threat of the pool water freezing.
Not only has JR. D Construction, the company you chose for the remodel, put up a lovely chain link fence around most of our park and two huge construction bins in our tiny parking lot, but their lack of progress is astounding. The steel construction bins add an apocalyptic, yet urban feel to the family park, especially when framed by the primary colors of the playground equipment. I can't help but notice how you have managed to drive away all the riff raff. Who wants kids playing in the park during summer anyway? And your self gratifying sign is just the icing on cake. JR. D Construction truly can do everything, including sucking all the life out a neighborhood park and dragging out a construction project for months on end.
Your trash bins showed up in May. Your chain link fence prohibited access to the swing set in early June. You drained the pool in mid June.Your sign went up in late June. And every day, no matter what time I drive by, walk my dog or take my kids to their friends' houses, the pool remains empty. No workers, no water, and no families enjoying their summer. Congratulations. Truly.
Now, perhaps the materials for the remodel are just not available. I guess that's just poor planning. Or maybe it's just too hot to work during the summer. Sure would've been nice to take a dip in the pool, right? Maybe you have too many projects going on and have spread yourself too thin. Poor planning? Again? Or maybe you are really really thorough and just want to do a good job. OK, I'll buy that, but where are your employees?
As for my HOA, thanks for making me call our management company, PCMI, to get all the information in the first place. When we didn't get the notice for our new pool tags I put in a call to PCMI to make sure my notice didn't get lost in the mail. I love making new friends anyway and the lovely lady on the phone informed me that we were getting a new pool. She was much more excited than I was. And no, no one thought to make a deal with a neighboring neighborhood so we could use their pool. And no, there is no county pool. And no, there is no city pool. But good news! Next year we should be able to use our brand new pool!
So thank you, Settler's Village HOA for the surprise remodel of the pool. I mean, I know we voted on it but I had know idea it was coming so soon. I certainly never would have guessed you would start it when swim season began. My guess would have been to do the remodel during the Spring or even Fall. And thank you for hiring what must surely be the most thorough construction company in the city and county and quite possibly in the state to work on the remodel. I'm positive I will thank you next year when I can take all three of my kids to the pool. Because God knows I can't do it this year.
Sincerely,
A Mom, A Member of the Community, A Wannabe Swimmer
I am so pleased that you decided to remodel our pool so that the families of our community could enjoy a refreshing swim during the hot and humid Texas Summer months. You couldn't have picked a better time of year to do the renovations either. Summer is the perfect time. There are no school kids walking to and from school to get in the way. No buses making a lot of noise. And you know for sure that it won't be too cold to work outside and there is no threat of the pool water freezing.
Not only has JR. D Construction, the company you chose for the remodel, put up a lovely chain link fence around most of our park and two huge construction bins in our tiny parking lot, but their lack of progress is astounding. The steel construction bins add an apocalyptic, yet urban feel to the family park, especially when framed by the primary colors of the playground equipment. I can't help but notice how you have managed to drive away all the riff raff. Who wants kids playing in the park during summer anyway? And your self gratifying sign is just the icing on cake. JR. D Construction truly can do everything, including sucking all the life out a neighborhood park and dragging out a construction project for months on end.
Your trash bins showed up in May. Your chain link fence prohibited access to the swing set in early June. You drained the pool in mid June.Your sign went up in late June. And every day, no matter what time I drive by, walk my dog or take my kids to their friends' houses, the pool remains empty. No workers, no water, and no families enjoying their summer. Congratulations. Truly.
Now, perhaps the materials for the remodel are just not available. I guess that's just poor planning. Or maybe it's just too hot to work during the summer. Sure would've been nice to take a dip in the pool, right? Maybe you have too many projects going on and have spread yourself too thin. Poor planning? Again? Or maybe you are really really thorough and just want to do a good job. OK, I'll buy that, but where are your employees?
As for my HOA, thanks for making me call our management company, PCMI, to get all the information in the first place. When we didn't get the notice for our new pool tags I put in a call to PCMI to make sure my notice didn't get lost in the mail. I love making new friends anyway and the lovely lady on the phone informed me that we were getting a new pool. She was much more excited than I was. And no, no one thought to make a deal with a neighboring neighborhood so we could use their pool. And no, there is no county pool. And no, there is no city pool. But good news! Next year we should be able to use our brand new pool!
So thank you, Settler's Village HOA for the surprise remodel of the pool. I mean, I know we voted on it but I had know idea it was coming so soon. I certainly never would have guessed you would start it when swim season began. My guess would have been to do the remodel during the Spring or even Fall. And thank you for hiring what must surely be the most thorough construction company in the city and county and quite possibly in the state to work on the remodel. I'm positive I will thank you next year when I can take all three of my kids to the pool. Because God knows I can't do it this year.
Sincerely,
A Mom, A Member of the Community, A Wannabe Swimmer
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