The Grind

:D, originally uploaded by The Fuzzy Squid

One of our friends had a baby a couple of years ago. Soon afterward, he started playing the massively addictive online role-playing game World of Warcraft. I was childless at the time, and this seemed to me counter-productive to his responsibilities as a parent. He assured me that these activities were not mutually exclusive. I was doubtful. Then we brought our own baby home, and I understood exactly what he was talking about.

While taking care of our newborn daughter, I often find myself with one arm occupied and the other arm free. This limits my range of motion, but it still allows me to play video games! With one hand I can feed her a bottle or jiggle her to sleep, and with my DS-wielding hand I can send my party of imaginary explorers on a magical dungeon journey.

My baby's needs are very simple, but she needs things all the time. The portable system is perfect because I can pick it up or put it down as needed. And since my brain is occupied with other things (mustn't drop the baby), it's the perfect time to play an RPG where I can mindlessly grind low-level monsters into a fine paste.

So it turns out I can be a dad and have fun at the same time. I think I just leveled up in my Parenting skill!