passing the buck

you all know that despite his most valiant efforts, liam did not receive a wii for christmas.  however, santa did offer him a small peace offering in the form of a nintendo DS, a handheld individual electronic game that's all the rage among the 5-9 year old crowd.  he's allowed to play for twenty minutes a day, and the kitchen timer we set to remind him to shut it down always comes too soon.  he loves it, and for those twenty minutes he's so completely focused on that little screen and pushing those little buttons that i swear a fire truck could come crashing through our house and he wouldn't even look up.  so i try to remind myself of the studies that show that the fine motor skills gained on these kinds of devices help in future professions like physicians.  (i'll admit that the article showcases that dadgum wii.  seems the mann family is being held captive to this elusive wii dream from which we will never escape.)

the only problem with this nintendo DS is that it's proving to be a constant battle to remind him to assume responsibility of the thing.  he'll forget to put the stylus back in the slot, or he'll leave a game cartridge out on the counter, or the case will be discarded on the floor, or he'll forget to charge the battery.

i picked up the charging station the other day and realized with dismay that the USB port had been damaged, rendering it pretty much useless.  it doesn't actually affect the functionality of the device itself, since you can charge it up directly, but it does show how he's really not caring for the most expensive thing he owns.  i held it up and asked him what had happened.

"i dunno," he said, perplexed.

now, let me interject here to say that i really don't think he realized he had damaged it.  his little five-year old fingers probably just tried to cram in the cord in the wrong direction, he figured it out, and remedied his solution.  i'm almost certain it wasn't intentional.  but just as i was about to rebuke him gently while showing him exactly what had gone wrong, he looked over at super, who was right at our feet like she always is, and said, "i think super probably did it."

"huh?" super and i chimed in together.  (well, that's the response she conveyed, with her ears cocked and her head tilted with a confused look.)  super hasn't even mastered the command "roll over".  ain't no way our slightly-low-level canine has suddenly taken up Mario Golf as a new pastime.

so then he tried a different approach.  "maybe ... maybe another kid did it."

"come on, liam.  there's no way that happened.  when your friends come over, y'all run around outside and play baseball in the yard, and on cold days you build things with your legos -- you don't even get out the DS.  the only person who plays it is you."

my soliloquy obviously fell on deaf ears, because he was still steamrolling ahead with his ridiculous explanation.  "yeah.  i think another kid did it.  i think santa gave the DS to another kid for christmas -- probably in australia where christmas starts earlier than here, and where they speak english and have the letters 'D' and 'S' -- and that kid messed it up, and santa got mad that he wasn't taking care of it and he took it back and wrapped it up and gave it to me instead."

new course offering:  Passing the Buck 101, by Instructor William J. Mann, II.  spaces limited due to the physical constraints of his 12x12 playroom.  enrollment starts tomorrow.  fees will help support the Liam Mann Wii Fund.  discount available to someone who can fix a broken DS charger.