I confess I don’t generally make a big thing of Valentine’s Day. There was, however, no escape when I went shopping with my daughters Helen and Izzy a couple of days ago. They saw this rainbow rose in among the Valentine’s bouquets and they insisted I buy it.
The video game Fortnite has attracted a lot of publicity recently. My eldest daughter, Helen, who is on the cusp of turning 10, was adamant she didn’t want to play it because of an incident involving another kid. She then discovered the game features some popular dance moves. Having learned of this and loving to dance, she recently sidled up to me and asked if I would buy it for her. The first thing I did was take a look at the PEGI age rating and I was very surprised to discover it was 12 years of age.
I looked at my phone. I simply didn’t recognise it. The icons were in completely different places. I immediately guessed what had happened; Helen, my nine year old daughter, had been playing with it.
Check out the perplexed look on my face. Why is this sat-nav mooing like a cow?
It was a dark night and we were driving home. It’s at such moments that I find my children can be at their most chatty and Helen was in a talkative mood, testing me, to see if I was a cool parent or not.
Looking longingly at acronyms my daughter didn’t think I’d know. Unfortunately for her, I’m quite well versed in these things.
It turns out my stepfather did know best. I was never asked to join Guns ‘n Roses to become the band’s bass guitarist.
My parents gave me a harsh lesson. It took me years to admit they were correct and that they knew best, but I never was going to be a famous musician or join Guns n’ Roses as bass guitarist. Pic credit: Freestocks.org on Unsplash.