Chances are, if you were to visit my house right now you would hear some version of the following:
“Oh, wow.”
“That sounds amazing.”
“Really? Wow. That is pretty cool.”
You will never hear me say, “Mmmm-hmmm,” nor will I ever repeat one of the statements above twice in a row.
To do so would induce an exasperated sigh from an eight-year-old who realizes I am not paying attention and would cause me to have to listen to the story again – WHILE GIVING MY FULL ATTENTION.
It’s not that Declan’s subject material for conversation isn’t interesting (well, I guess it depends on the crowd). It’s that the subject material is on constant repeat. I’ve heard the same stories for the past three months, multiple times a day.
Sonic. Mario. Sega. Nintendo. Nintendo switch. Gaming consoles.
Declan started with Mario and Sonic, the characters themselves, and developed a keen liking for them and their traits. Conversations around the characters are like this:
“I like Sonic more than I like Mario. Sonic just says, “I like chili dogs.” He doesn’t say it like Mario says everything. Sonic doesn’t say, “I like-a, da chili dogs-a,” which is how Mario says everything! “I like-a da pizz-a,” or “I like-a da pasta.” It really gets annoying.”
I can see his point, I guess.
Of course, more intense research of the characters led to their origins and history.
“Do you want to know the history of Mario? Mario was created in 1981 when he was first seen in the video game, Donkey Kong. Sonic was made in 1991, and he was almost an armadillo, can you believe it?”
An armadillo would be a little odd, I suppose.
There are conversations I hear Declan use someone else’s language. All of a sudden Declan thinks a Sonic character acted “cringey.” Those are the conversations I know he is scripting from a YouTube video.
From characters to history to the consoles themselves. I hear about them all.
“For my birthday, I would like the Nintendo Switch. Make sure you do not get the Switch Lite. I want mine to connect to a TV. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to connect your game to the TV. Maybe my grandparents will get me a Sega Genesis. I can put all my consoles together then. Do you know what I really need? A gaming room. If I am going to be a famous gamer, then I am going to need a room for all my consoles and screens.”
And for once, I had a good reply.
“Don’t forget you said you wanted to get your own house one day. You could have your own gaming room in your own house.”
Declan’s eyes stopped traveling around the room, trying to imagine which room he could confiscate, and he smiled.
Gaming room averted. For now.
With the new summer schedule, there is a lot more time for Declan to play his current video games and watch a ton of YouTube videos about characters, games, and gaming consoles. All to spice up our later conversations.
In between, I take Declan for walks at our favorite preserve.
And listen to a one sided conversation about gaming.
I take the kids to the same preserve for some time to cool off in the water. Where we ALL listen to stories about games.
To come home and listen to the plusses and minuses of all his consoles.
I’ve realized I have fine-tuned the art of the “tune out” this week when the dog found an old Christmas gift for one of the kids and entered into toy heaven. A little stuffed shark that played the tune “Baby Shark” each and every time she bit into it.
Pugs, who are known to snore because of their compacted snozzes, snore even louder when they have passed out with their favorite toy in their mouth.
And when the big dog takes over the little bed, the little pug plays happily with her baby shark.
When I found this little box on the counter and heard Baby Shark play when I pressed it, I realized someone hit their limit and removed the soundbox from the dog toy.
Clearly, this is the person I need to send Declan to in order to tell them all his gaming stories. The “tune out” is a skill that must be earned through hours of hard work. 😊
In years to come you will look back with a smile.
I bet! I think that is one of the reasons I really like to blog. It is practically a diary of the things we go through which I will smile about later 🙂
Okay, you have so many adorable photos in one post! 😀
Thank you so much!! 🙂
No Way…Really, Ben?… That’s great!… Are you sure?… So cool…😂😂😂 yep! A survival skill. And Ben has limited speech so I can imagine you thinking of duct tape and a fun “game”😂😂😂 (totally joking! Well… mostly joking😉)💌
Haha! Yes! I’ve repeated the same lines – that is so funny! 🙂 I can’t tell you how many times I was interrupted in the process of writing this post about something gaming – and you KNOW you have to be “interested” or you are going to pay 🙂
It’s constant. Sometimes feels like it never stops. It’s wonderful when your 100% but sometimes it feels like your brain has blown and our sons brain is just starting to get going. So with you on this.
Totally agree! There are things that he tells me – new tidbits that are really interesting. But then there are times when he tells me a story he has already told me five times that day (and half are scripted). It’s tough to really pay attention.
First, that’s a really cool image. You must have been pretty excited when you found that. Declan’s story telling reminds me of a phase my kids went through. “Hey, dad, let me tell you about the movie I watched last night.” And then, literally, they would tell me the whole movie. I still use the tune out sometimes, and yes, it’s usually related to gaming topics.
I was! At first I couldn’t get it to load and I was faced with a “do I try and find another free image or keep trying to load this one.” I kept trying and finally got it to work. Oh my gosh, these stories are the same, day in and day out. I’ve got the glazed brain but the attentive look down pat.
Another great post with wonderful photos. Me – the dog nut – especially loved the bit about your pug finding and owning the Baby Shark toy, only to have someone steal its vocals. How cruel – and funny!
Haha! Thank you!
I have so much to learn from you! 🙂 I just tell my son to go away or go see the other parent when I’m not interested. LOL. I’m gonna use this next time and see what happens.
Lucky Declan Nintendo to get that original NES console and that swimming water looks so nice right about now.
And adorable pug! 🙂 Everyone is enjoying their summer!
Haha! Oh good! Make sure you make eye contact at some point during the “Oh, wow! Really?” Otherwise, T might be on to you 😉 Thank you! So far, so good! I hope you are having a great summer so far too!
I noticed that since AdamCat died I am largely able to tune out the nearly non-stop fireworks and explosions. They terrified him but my remaining cats aren’t bothered so I’m also no longer bothered.
Wow, that must be tough to have to listen to all the time. That is good you can tune them out! I guess you get used to them.
Whatever they’re exploding now aren’t as bad as the homemade mortars. I’m sure those will start soon. These started in mid-May.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
When he was very young my oldest had a massive fever and became disoriented. I think it was a hundred and three or four. I finally got a wet towel and rubbed him down and that brought it down. Then, as we lay there in the dark, he talked to me for a full hour about Jazz Jackrabbit. I was so happy that he was lucid that I enjoyed every second of it…
My gosh, I probably would too. Sounds scary!
Nice
Pre-COVID my time with the niece and nephews was actually pretty generous but every minute was precious and I was so happy to listen to every rambling word, even when I learned way more about Pokemon than I ever cared to or knew existed. But at my work, my colleagues and I are always on the phone, talking people through difficult times, suicidal feelings, and even life-threatening scenarios, and yet we’ve learned to tune each other out save for a few “red flag words” for the sake of our own conversations. I’m finding this skill coming in handy as Sean works from home and I’m able to tune him out because I’d probably enjoy monologues about gaming systems more than property law!
Oh my gosh, that was my job too. Maybe I already had the ability to tune people out before and I never realized it. There were four of us answering calls for adults, two more for teens. We were all in a very small area and you do hear a lot, but you needed to also focus on who you were talking to or what you were doing. I knew when to call 911 while a co-worker worked to keep a caller on the line. I think the hardest part about D conversations now is that I hear them – the same conversation – many times a day. I am hopeful once his birthday passes and he has a new system to play the conversation moves forward. We’ll see!
You and me husband. He has also perfected the art of tuning out. Hmm. But I’m the only one around here talking to him! Maybe I need to investigate my topics of conversation.
I am not sure where I heard this (I think my frustrated MIL, actually) but husband’s brains learn which sound wave to ignore and then they can’t hear that wave. She could have been exasperated at that point and bent the truth a little, but I think she said she read it somewhere and was working on changing her sound wave 🙂
I’ll have to try that.
Hi
Really best post.
Thank you!
Welcome. I am happy