I am officially the Best Mum
Ever. No really, I am. I have it on good authority. Not only from my son but another mum told me so too.
And I have Pokémon™ to thank for it. Yes those little Pocket Monsters helped me evolve into an Awesome Mum (in the spirit of manga that translates to Aw-mum).
See, my little boy’s been desperate to own a copy of either HeartGold
or SoulSilver for his DS® ever since they were released in September 2009, so
he’s been a pretty patient lad.
But with the family budget being
what it is (or isn’t to be more
accurate), I just can’t justify spending $70 on one little game.
They finally went on an unbeatable special in the big toy sale, so I
dutifully lined up at the entertainment counter first thing in the morning on
opening day, along with all the other parents stocking up on electronic
Christmas presents.
Only 37 minutes later I reached
the head of the line and enquired whether I was so lucky as to have either
version of the game still in store. Both were, and since the price of two was
less than half the regular price of one- and since my son had failed to decide
which particular game he was most desperate to own- I got one of each.
I was tossing up about whether to
hide them until December 25th, or go ahead and make his day when the
little bugger beat me to it and just ‘happened’ to find both versions of the
game in my bag (I reckon he’d make a pretty good detective, having the uncanny
ability to discover things in alleged plain sight).
Anyway, having put him through
the agony of deciding which game he wanted most (HeartGold for those playing
along at home), I then did the unthinkable and told him he could now wait for
it, since he spoiled the surprise.
After a full day’s sulking (him,
not me), we managed to come to a compromise once he realized he had almost
enough money saved up to buy the thing off me; with a little more negotiating
for a pay-as-you-play kind of arrangement whereby I withhold his weekly pocket
money until he’d reached the full amount.
Deal done, he settled down to
play, and started adding said monsters to said pockets over the course of the
weekend.
Come Monday I disappointed him
again by banning him taking the toy to school (hey, it’s my job isn’t it). I
mean to say, he’d waited so long to get it I wanted it to last a little longer
than lunchtime in the playground! We
again reached a compromise and I promised to wear the Pokéwalker™ as I went to work.
I took over 3000 steps the first
day I took it for a walk.
And 5000 steps the next.
Which apparently translates into
a lot of watts, which in turn means more power for the Pokémon to play.
I even
inadvertently ‘found’ some soda and other refreshments, and was thrilled (not
to mention shocked) to see the message “You got it!” on the little screen
during one of my walks. (Translated: I managed to capture another Pokémon,
without even trying. Yay me.)
I have the thing duly strapped to
me again today. But since I’m spending the day at home doing housework and
other exciting adventures I don’t think I’ll beat my record thus far. Then
again you’d be surprised just how much ground one can
cover just
wandering around.
Which
brings me to my original claim of being the Best Mum Ever. My son is stoked
that his monsters get fed and exercised while he’s hard at work at school, and
another mother declared herself most impressed at what I was doing for my
child.
But hey, I
figure if I can’t afford every electronic marvel that gets put out these days,
and have to play mean mum from time to time, the least I can do is pop a Pokémon
in my pocket and rack up the brownie points along with the steps I take during
the day.
And when
your kids think you are the Best Mum Ever, well, that’s priceless isn’t it.
Jx
©2011
