We have all been there, had to balance our geeky interests with the responsibilities of being a parent. We always think we can manage the two, but something usually has to give. The only guarantee in this great geeky community is: You are not alone. And when you see another geeky parent in that same situation you know too well, it becomes a secret sign of survivors. I have been there.
It was Day 2 of my PAX Aust weekend. The Word from the Exhibitors was Saturday is always the busiest of the three days and the crowd were definitely providing a solid argument in support. It was pretty thick walking from the panels in the Convention area through to the Tabletop Arena. And while the vibe was still fairly upbeat, you had to maintain focus just to move from one side to the other.
In that moment, I could have completely missed her. I could have easily just walked past, another face in the crowd, and not noticed her own determination to move through AND maintain her smile.
Well, I could have—except for her adorable Riddler cosplay; and her adorable son hanging under one arm.
As a fellow geek-parent, I could NOT have missed her. I have been there. We have all been there. I love every opportunity to share my geeky interests with the spawnlings and at the same time keep a watchful eye for any signs of “Had It” in the young ‘uns. None too sure I am maintaining my composure at the same time. Scratch that—pretty sure I have not.
In my rush, I forgot to ask for her name, but I did ask for a photo. She was quite surprised, saying “sometimes you just need to move from Point A to Point B and if that means picking him up and moving him, then so be it.”
Absolutely! That’s why I wanted the photo! Right there, you have the epitome of geek parenting. The vision of what we have all been through, and continue to go through because we WANT to be geeky parents. It’s not all cosplays and comic book superheroes. It’s not even science experiments. It’s sharing the passion with your kids in whatever way you can.
We shared a knowing smile and a quick nod in solidarity, and then I watched as she weaved back through the crowd to find a quiet place for her spawnling to chill.
For a moment, I really missed my spawnlings (and EG Dad).
Then I realized I had a whole 10 minutes to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee without interruption before the next Tabletop Tutorial.
Geek Parenting. We have all been there. We all have our ways of managing it. And we all have our ways of supporting each other.
Curious about what happened in Episode 1? Well, it all came down to walking past a PAX Enforcer at just the right time…
