Project 19 to 19: Day #4

Video Game Master

Like so many of his generation, Wonder Boy has been completely enamored with video games from a very early age. Back when this photo was taken in 2004, we severely limited his time "on the box" and only got him games with an educational spin.


The game shown here was his favorite for a long time - a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse game that focused on the alphabet and colors. It was bright and colorful and had a bubbly sound track to accompany it.

Since those early days, the Boy has delved into all things video game related. He spent time building levels on games he purchased. He has programmed his own games. He has sketched out all his favorite characters. And he's learned to bang out some of the tunes featured in his favorite games on his piano or guitar.

In short, there is very little aspect about video games which the Boy has not explored.

As of late, he has been all but obsessed with the musical aspect of his favorite games. He wakes up in the morning humming those tunes. Once class is over, he likes to pluck a tune on his guitar or dabble around on the piano. Sometimes he will send us the link to a video on YouTube. And any time we take a car ride togehter, his favorite topic is discussion the types of music in his favorite games, especially those he enjoyed when he was young.

All of that talk must be seeping into my subconscious because I find myself being drawn to game music too. The Boy and I had recently been talking about one of his first truly favorite games - Little Big Planet. And just by a strange twist of fate, one of its most iconic songs ended up in my YouTube play list the very next day!


Wonder Boy and his dad must have played that game for a good solid year, only moving on when the Little Big Planet 2 was released. I do not have a flair for game play, but LPB was so pretty and the music so captivating that I couldn't help but spend hours watching them play.

The screenshot above was from my favorite level, called "the Wedding Reception" and the video below is the song that plays throughout the level. Thanks to my boy, it now has a permanent home on my playlist!

Project 17 to 17: Day 8

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I'm not sure where that phrase originates, but some days it seems to ring a bit more true than others.

Wonder Boy only has one academic area in which he does not effortlessly succeed: language arts. I can identify - it was never my strongest subject either. But like so much about my favorite teenager, he seems to be exponentially "more" at any characteristic we might share. And in this case, that is definitely not an advantage.

He doesn't like to write. And it has been like that from the very beginning.


Even in kindergarten, he resisted any writing assignment. You can see it on his face in this flashback photo. His heart is not in the task at hand. And if you could see more of his face in the photo above, you would see the same expression of resignation on his face.

We are very thankful that Wonder Boy keeps at it, when it comes to ELA assignments. We do not have to badger him to get the work done, but it is hard to watch him struggle through each and every every assignment.

We cannot all be wonderful at everything. That is a lesson that is drummed home during the academic year for our Boy. There is no way that we have found to soften the blow. And we are oh so thrilled that Wonder Boy continues to work to improve. He HAS improved, in fact. I just hope that he can enjoy at least SOME academic success along the way to reward his effort.

Project 17 to 17: Day 4

I read an author state once that he was amazed that people were able to communicate at all since we all see the world from our own unique personality.

I think of that often when I sit back to marvel at my favorite young man.

Our flashback photo for the day is one of those that has always struck me as such. You see, when Wonder Boy was about 2-3 years old, he developed a love for puzzles that has continued through today. Watching him assemble puzzles was one of those first moments that struck me on how differently he processed the world around him.

I know I've told this story before, but it has always struck a chord with me, so I hope you won't mind my repetitiveness.

One day, much like the one pictured below, we were working on a nice, big puzzle sprawled across the dining table. He was working on a section in the middle while I was trying to get the border pieced together. At one point, I turned to watch him work away and I noticed that he had two pieces that were obvious to me that did not belong together as they were colored differently. So I asked him why he he thought they would go together? He pulled them apart and showed me that the shapes did indeed look like they MIGHT just fit. And I asked him if he looked at the color and he said no.

It was a very simple exchange, but it has stayed with me all of these years. I think it was the first time I understood just how differently he was looking at things! Where I was looking at colors, he was contemplating edge geometry. Neither was right or wrong, just different. It was a wake-up moment for me. This child who seemed such a huge part of his father and I ... he was unique, he was all his own.


That little realization has grown exponentially over the years! Our Wonder Boy has grown literally and figuratively into a perfectly unique version of himself. His eyes look a little bit like mine, but are not some exact copy. He has a mischievous grin that so reminds me of his father, but again, it's not exact. He's a home body while Wonder Dad likes to be up and about and I fall somewhere in between.

These days, it's no longer a surprise to me that his mind works in ways I can barely grasp. In fact, most of the time, I love for him to sit down and tell me what he's working on and why and what he gets out of it. Take this morning for instance. Most mornings, he prefers to lounge with his pups until to get ready for school, but today I found him focused on his computer as soon as he finished his breakfast. When I asked him what he was working on he showed me the graph you see above. In case you do not automatically guess what that is about, he told me it was "a representation of a 3D function on a 2D plotter." You see, he's putting together a presentation for some junior members of the Computer Science team at school so they can learn how to code these types of algorithms for competition.

Personally, I just thought it was pretty.

And THAT made him shake his head when I told him.

It's a wonder that we are able to communicate. Our minds do not work the same. But I am oh so thankful that we can because then I get a glimpse into a whole different world!

Project 16 to 16: Day 8

Wow! It's hard to believe that we're already more than a week into this project. And even more unbelievable is that there is barely more than a week to go until our countdown comes to a close. That's not helping my denial any.

For today, I wanted to show off another form of the Boy's creative side.


As I have shown in years past, the Boy likes to paint, he likes to draw, he likes to build ... he just plain likes to CREATE! And that is something I truly admire!

It may be hard to tell, but in this snapshot, Wonder Boy is playing around with his Wacom tablet. He's been playing around with this toy for a number of years, but in recent weeks, he's really started trying to learn how to use it properly. I love watching him create. He gets in a zone, focused on the end result. And when he's done, he gets down right giddy until he can show off his latest work. There are not many things that bring out that kind of enthusiasm in our Boy, but creating is always a good bet!

In our look back to 2008, we get the chance to see that giddy smile on his face! This time it was due to being recognized by his first grade teacher (Mrs. Good) for being the first student in class to read 100 chapters for the school year! She gifted him with this little monkey which he dubbed "Friendly, the Monkey." He kept that monkey in his room, in a place of honor among his pillows throughout elementary school.

Mrs. Good has retired now, but she lives in our neighborhood so we get the chance to run into her from time to time when she's out walking her dogs. She will always hold a special place in our hearts for igniting a special spark in our Boy. She showed him that, not only was it OK, it was ADMIRABLE to be an academic all star! The Boy is not ultra competitive in most areas of his life, but when it comes to his grades, he takes great pride in working hard to achieve his academic goals. And THAT makes us all smile that giddy smile!

Project 16 to 16: Day 4

Today's photos seem very stereotypical for kids of Wonder Boy's generation. Technology has been, and continues to be, a huge part of his life!


We know, when we are not sure where to find the Boy, there's a strong possibility we'll find him in the computer room, engrossed in some program, some video, or some tutorial.

There are many reasons to limit and monitor the use of technology, but at the same time, it is an amazing tool!

When we were young, if we wanted to learn anything outside of classroom material, we needed a trip to the library or we hoped some family member had a fairly recent set of encyclopedias. Today, when the Boy wants to check out something new, he need go no further than his computer! He spends more than his fair share of any given day parked in that chair, but he doesn't just wile away his time. Most days, we find him engrossed in some new math concept. He has been very driven to learn concepts of differential calculus for the better part of the summer and continuing into this fall (despite the fact that he is just taking Algebra II at school).

He loves all things math, but he passed up Wonder Dad's and my level of expertise many months ago. So we are very thankful that he has a place to research his favorite topic!

In our flash back to 2004, we see our little guy happily enjoying a few moments of screen time. We can't see the screen here, but my guess is that he was playing a Micky Mouse alphabet game - it was his favorite back then. What I love most about this snapshot is the the look of pure joy on his face.

As you can see, the computer has been his "happy place" for many years now and that shows no sign of changing any time soon.

Project 15 to 15: Day 6

Day 6 is here and I wanted to show you where you can most often find Wonder Boy these days: at his computer.


When in doubt, we know to go looking for the Boy at his computer. Sometimes he's working on school assignments. Sometimes he's pounding out a new program (he's working on making his own scientific/graphing calculator program right now). Occasionally we'll find him drawing on his Wacom tablet. And every now and then, he's just watching Youtube videos for fun. I am not sure if it is a generational thing or just a Wonder Boy characteristic, but this is his happy place. And since he, more often than not, uses his time for learning and expanding his mind, it's hard to begrudge him the time he spends on-line.

As we flash back to 2006, we see our Boy on his 5th birthday with his first favorite teacher:


The Boy has been blessed with an abundance of caring educators from preschool all the way through to his first year of high school. But this special lady was the first teacher who really connected with him. When he was at the height of his super hero phase, she let him wear his mask to class and even let him sign his papers as "the Dash" as long as he spelled it correctly. She encouraged him to express himself openly, regardless of what others might say or think. She played such a huge role in preparing him for the start of his academic career. She "graduated" from preschool with the Boy's class and we lost track of her for a number of years. But I am thankful that we now see her regularly around town.

Project 14 to 14: Day 11

On Day 11 of this count down to the Boy's big day, I wanted to show you a glimpse of the Boy in his happy place - sitting at the computer.


Not only is he at the computer, but he's working on a game project. This particular game project is for school, but this is something he would never consider "work." No, this is the boy at his happiest these days. He loves piecing together all the moving parts and creating something he can't wait to share with his friends (and teammates on the Robotics team at school)!

I am always in awe of his creations. And I can't wait to see idea he works on NEXT!

Our look back today, to the morning of his 10th birthday, is one that always makes me laugh out loud!


Come on - you laughed too, right??

Does this look like the face of a boy with one of his favorite foods on the morning of his BIRTHDAY?? NO! It looks like I feel on the morning of an extra early meeting before my first cup of coffee.

But the reality is that this is what the Boy looks like most mornings - including birthdays and even Christmas! He is just not a morning person and never has been. By the time he finished his milk and started in on the cinnamon rolls, he was good to go and ready for a day of fun and celebrations and PRESENTS! But he needs that blood sugar boost like I need my morning caffeine.