GameStop Adventure
GameStop. Call of Duty: Black Ops. The thrill of being a boy. Good Mom. Bad Mom. Tired Mom.
9:30 pm: Cole is trying to talk me into taking him to GameStop. Why? You don’t know? Really? The new Call of Duty: Black Ops game is being sold starting at 12 am, and Cole, my fourteen-year-old son, pre-ordered it.
9:40 pm: Cole enthusiastically shares, “Black Ops isn’t just a good game—it’s borderline revolutionary.” This translates to mean the game is violent. It’s warfare, with lots of killing and blood. Rated M.
9:52 pm Cole explains the patriotic side of the game developers, who are using part of the money generated by the game sales to create a one-million-dollar fund to help with veterans’ unemployment difficulties. Which means: let’s give parents a reason to justify them or their kid spending $60.00 on a video game they aren’t sure their kid should even own.
10:00 pm: I say to Cole, “Your dad would have pitched such a fit if he were here and knew I was taking you over to GameStop to stand in line to buy a video game at 12 am on a school night.” Cole says, “Yes, Mom, but dad died.” He has a point. Sorry, Joe.
10:07 pm: Cole looks at me and says, “This experience would make a great blog post.”
10:08 pm: Driving over to GameStop. The line loops around the building several times. I go in with Cole to purchase the game. First, we stand in line to purchase the game, and then we stand in line outside to wait for it to be handed out.
and the line goes on....
10:20 pm: Buying the game. The game is rated M, and GameStop is very responsible about insisting on parent ID for anyone under seventeen buying an M-rated game. I fight back the urge to say, “I’m am too responsible,” when I hand them my ID for an M-rated game at 10:20 pm on a school night.
10:30 pm: Happy Dance. Starbucks is next to GameStop, and they are open! One Grande White Chocolate Mocha, extra pump of mocha . . . with whip.
The warm inviting glow of Starbucks
10:45 pm: Cole and I are standing in line until they start handing the game out at midnight. Two of his fellow line mates blow cigarette smoke on me and tell me how they wish their mom’s were cool just like me. I decide to sit in the car.
11:00 pm: Sitting in the car, catching up with my friends on Facebook. Excited to find out my friend Carolee is at a GameStop in Maryland with her fourteen year old. We agree we are awesome moms.
11:05 pm: Cousin Carla reminisces about talking off work to stand in line to buy a green Power Ranger and about all the midnight movie premiers she has attended. Carla says, “We do it because that is what we do.” She has a high school senior and is full of sentiment.
11:15 pm: Elaine is encouraging me, “So what the hell if you go get it at midnight . . . . At least he will be sure to snag one!” Thanks, Elaine; I need that about now.
11:30 pm: Cynthia is not allowing her son to own the game. She says it’s a hill she will die on. I try to explain: the idea is to shoot the other guy first so you do not have to die on a hill. Cynthia goes to bed.
11:45 pm: Cynthia’s mom, Carol, raises an eyebrow and says she is so glad she had her kids before video games. My mother would agree. Mom, don’t take this personally, but Carol may have done a better mothering job in this area, since her daughter’s boy is home in bed. However, mom, there is good news: all the new friends Cole is making while standing in line think I am really cool. Cynthia is at home asleep while I am out being cool.
11:50 pm: Teresa, the mother of a college senior, shares that she once went on a long hunt, waiting in line to buy her daughter a Beanie Baby. While other friends bail during my wait, Teresa keeps me company the whole time. She does grow a little weary at one point, saying she has no idea why she is obsessed with watching this episode of my life unfold, but she hangs in with me.
12:00 am: The line is moving. Time to join Cole in line.
12:07 am: We pass through the GameStop door.
12:13 am: I admit it: I’m a little giddy with excitement and late-night caffeine. While we stand in line for just a few more minutes, can I just say that GameStop did an outstanding job releasing this game to the masses?
12:22 am: Mission Accomplished! We reach the counter. The store employee looks for confirmation that a parent is present.
12:23 am: I’m right here! Look this way, please…..
Mission Accomplished!!
12:50 am: Cole is sound a sleep. I am wide awake. I have this mad desire to wake him up and insist he play his video game. I don’t but I want to really badly. A special shout out to Facebook friend and mom, Antoinette, who kept me company into the wee hours–she is on Melbourne, Australia time.
What wild and crazy things have you done for or with your kids; perhaps against your better judgment? Do Tell! Misery loves moms!
Glad you were in my Odd neighborhood. Feel free to drop by any time. Odd Loves Company and odd loves you and you and you!! I would love to hear from you in the comment section of this blog, or on Facebook or Twitter!
Katybeth
Being the cool mom you SHOULD have woke him up and insisted not only that he play the game, but let you play too! lol – Katybeth you crack me up! The things we do for our kids, I love it! I would have done the same thing!
I remember all the driving I did to concerts for my daughter – NSYNC being the biggest of them all. Me and another of the girls dad sitting in the parking lot at 11:00 at night while we could hear the concert going on, girls screaming, strobes lights and lasers flashing around in there. He opens the trunk and there is the cooler of beer! MY SAVIOR!!!! Needless to say our daughters had to drive home that night, but all their friends thought it was so cool we would drive them to the concert and then sit in the parking lot and get smashed! Those were the good old days……….. 😉
What fun..and what a great story for the girls to take into adulthood…we need to parent but being cool once in awhile sure is fun…even if means sitting in the car drinking beer or Starbucks.
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It was awesome. This past Sept this same dad stood in the reception hall toasting his daughter and her new husband, and this story was part of his speech! What made it so touching is that most of those kids who thought us cool back then were either in the wedding party or there as guests, and they STILL think we are cool. Make the memories now, the years fly by. Before you know it they are gone and you sit around going “what the hell?” but you know in your heart you did the best you could to make them strong, wonderful men and women. I love having my grown children be my friend now, and I know they still think I am cool! 😉
I was never cool before I became a mom–go figure. What a fun follow-up…the wedding toast.
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Katybeth – you were always unique – that’s so much better than cool!
I think we had that in common–just like last nights escapade!
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Wonderful post. This is something he will remember when he is older, just like Donna’s children will remember the concert. In our day, we stood in line for concert tickets, that they now buy on line, so this is the coming of a new generation, of midnight fun, in line for something. I love it!!
Thanks Adelaide. I never did the in-line thing when I was a kid but have more than made up for it as an adult–I-Phone, I-Pad, GameStop. Its fun.
Glad you dropped by Odd!
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Whenever my daughter Kaitlin had a heart breaking moment growing up (didn’t make captain of the dance team, a bad break up, or a fight with a friend) I would take her shopping or to get pedicures. We’d jump in the car and drive the long commute to Woodfield Mall, playing music and talking. I’d tell her we’re doing something to make her feel better about herself. It wasn’t really about the new clothes or shoes she got, it was about taking her mind off things for awhile and concentrating on her. I felt guilty that I used shopping as a way to “buy back” her happiness. Not necessarily a good life lesson, but I justified it knowing it was the experience and time spent with her. We’d talk a little about her issue, but more so, I’d focus on the importance of keeping herself happy. Not just by wearing new clothes (although that helps) but by doing things that please you and give you confidence. You, KB, did something with Cole that made him happy and in doing so, created a meaningful experience for the both of you. To me, that’s what life is about. So if we spoil, or break the rules a bit, we all need to remember the journey we’re on with our children. One where we experience each other’s joy and pain and do all we can to make it a memorable ride.
Retail therapy. Such a good place to start.
Wise words Teresa Maria from a mom who successfully navigate the teen years and is well on her way to graduating a college senior who will be ready to go forth and make a difference in the world.
Thanks!
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Makes me feel so much better about the things I let my kids play. Cole turned out great. There is still hope!
Glad to go ahead of you and test the waters, Sarah..but your boys are starting out at terrific as they enter the high school years…and I am certain will be just fine.
Thanks–for the compliment about Cole. We still have a ways to go but it does seem to get better and better—and MORE FUN!
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Hey cousin, you say you were not cool until you became a mom!! Not so – to me when I was little, you were the coolest cousin EVER!!! I loved hanging out with you! I remember the time we went shopping in Chicago somewhere – can’t remember the store – but you bought me some clothes and then you actually let me wear the clothes out of the store!! My mother would have never let me do that! I thought that was the coolest thing ever! So, don’t ever say you weren’t cool! I found you VERY VERY COOL and wanted to be just like you when I grew up!
I love you lots and lots!!
Molly
Did I really? I do remember letting you and Sabrina wander around Chicago…and I am still impressed you found your way to Annilise without the address or a phone number. OMG–you wandered without a PHONE!! It was fun. You will have to send Ryan to me–he and Cole can explore Chicago together and repeat a tradition. Except the part about the phone….
Love you more…
Kb
I let Noah and Bobby play M rated games when they turned 14 too. It seems to be the age. I was the totally UN-cool Mom! I monitored TV time and wouldn’t let Noah drive with his friends to Orlando (an hour away) even in his senior year and he was 18. I did drive him to any concert he wanted to go to though and it usually ended up that his friends all rode with us so they wouldn’t have to pay for gas or parking. I guess that makes me the UN-cool, sucker Mom.
Carla–you were cool….and never afraid to step up and say-“since my life would be over if something happened to you…I am not going to take a chance on this one”–Now who needs a ride….”
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The wii, oh God the wii. I sold internal organs for the wii.
Oh yes…the WII. What we do for our kids!
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Ahhh… black ops. The topic of many discussion in my house. Seriously, if I can only talk to you while you are in the “lobby” or while you are “re-spawning” we have a major problem.
FYI – you are NOT saving the world. <—- my mantra to my 15 year old stepson.
Thanks for dropping by Odd!
Kb
I loved this post. Awesome writing and a great story.
True fact: I once stood in line to buy Windows 95 at midnight. God help me, that’s much, much worse. My soul is irredeemable. Windows 95!
Thank you Tom!! I feel so much better now!!!
Thanks for dropping by Odd!
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