“Dad, can you help us yet?” Yelled my oldest.
“Coming.” I said for probably the 4th time. I knew they were building a fort, but I was tapping away at my keyboard. I was composing a symphony… of words.
“Dad, are you coming?!”
Ugh! I thought. How could they interrupt me while I’m in the Zone? The creatives out there know what I mean. The Zone is gold, where thoughts and ideas flow through you like honey. Time melts away like hot wax trickling down a candlestick. It’s the place where artists, scientists, inventors, and mathematicians truly create. Can any of you relate to this?
I tapped away more until an arrow pierced my creative bubble. POP! I plucked out the arrowhead and read its inscription.
MESSENGER OF DADNAMICS
I needed this reminder. The Zone will always be there. My computer isn’t going anywhere. But my kids are growing up and won’t be asking for help with forts forever. I must strike. I must walk my own talk. I must enter the other zone – The Dadnamics Zone.
I arose with a new conviction and purpose, for I now heard their desperate pleas. I could tell the fort project was going badly and I was prepared for the worst. Upon entering our Rec Room, my presumption was proven. The twisted piles of pillows, sheets, and furniture gave the impression of tornadic activity. In my panic, I frantically searched for a pair of ruby red slippers sticking out from underneath the wreckage. When my search yielded no slippers, small dogs, or Munchkins, I addressed my three builders.
“Builders! This project surpasses the residential and ventures into commercial construction. We will need the king-sized sheets and blankets. Plus, we will need weights, ladders, chairs, and probably… duct tape. Let’s begin.”
Two hours later, the fort was complete. We removed the scaffolding, heavy equipment, and safety signage to unveil a shrouded facility with three dual-purpose bedrooms. The first two doubled as library and board game rooms, while the third served as the master bedroom and living room. The centerpiece was the retro 80’s throwback Nintendo. For all of you Millenials, that’s an 8-bit video gaming system that looks more like a cartoon than a video game. In my opinion, it’s still the best ever made and far surpasses the Augmented Reality phenomenon sweeping the nation right now.
I mean, seriously! Why would I want to walk all over the place to find imaginary Nintendo Pokeman Go cartoons when I can play them right in front of me? The original Nintendo is where it’s at! After 30 years, I still remember the passwords and shortcuts to fight Mike Tyson or to get 100 free lives in Super Mario Brothers. Who else remembers this one? Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. Some of you are nodding your heads right now. And no Millenials, it’s not a dance move. It’s the code you press at the Contra home screen for 30 free lives. This game was near impossible to beat with 3 lives, so you had to take matters into your own hands.
Okay, I digressed a bit. Back to the fort. We played Nintendo for hours like the good ol’ days, which included a few attempts at Mike Tyson, Super Mario Brothers, RBI baseball, and some target shooting. It was awesome! Kolby stole the show when he annihilated all 10 ducks for a perfect score in Duck Hunt.
We allowed all three to sleep in their new bedrooms for the weekend, under one condition. They must bring in a safety engineer each night for final inspection. I’m not sure how hard they tried to find one though because they kept saying. “Dad, be the safety engineer.”
I’m so glad that I exited my flow state and entered the Dadnamics Zone.
