Those mushrooms are called Goombas?

So, my boys have recently discovered Super Mario Bros.  I'm not talking Mario Kart or whatever the kids are playing these days.  I'm talking the best of the Nintendo games, circa 1985.  (The fact that we play the game on our Wii and not the original Nintendo is not at all relevant.)  

I love this game.  It was pretty much the only game I ever played on Nintendo as a kid.  I vaguely remember playing a game where we had to do the 'up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start' to get 100 extra lives, but, mostly, my game was Super Mario Bros.  I remember the excitement we felt to learn all the secrets, from the hidden coins and extra lives to the warp zones, and how thrilled we were when we finally saved Princess Toadstool from that dragon thing. 

We downloaded Super Mario to our Wii a few years ago, and, I swear, I played every day after school work for a week.  It brought me back to the 4th grade - in my parents’ basement, fighting for a turn while watching my brother and his friends try (unsuccessfully – ha!  you jerks!) to rescue the princess.  Now as an adult (sort of), I could play to my heart's content.  No fighting with brothers or neighborhood kids.  I still remembered all the hidden coins and extra lives.  How to jump on the double Goombas and knock through the Koopa Troopas (thanks, Wikipedia!). Not to mention the wonders of the warp zones.  Why go through the whole game when you can warp?

The game was simple then.  You could only go in one direction, forward (a doy), and you had to pass each level before going onto the next (well, except for that warping thing).  It's not that way with current games.  I watch my 7-year-old play his Star Wars and Indiana Jones games and I am a) confused and b) bored out of my mind.  I just don't get them.  How do you win?  How do you know which direction to go?  When do you know it's over?  Is it ever over??

I admit it took me a long time to master SMB.  I think I only saved the princess once, but I did it.  It’s a memory I didn’t know I lost… until I went looking for it.  I did beat the game, didn’t I?  I’m sure I did.  I had to have… right?

Anyway, my family was over on Sunday for dinner and my mother and I talked about our old Nintendo while we watched the kids play.  She doesn't remember us ever owning a Nintendo.  To add to that, she doesn't remember us owning an Atari, either (seriously, where was this woman while we were all in the basement fighting [literal fisticuffs] over next turn?!).  At least I'm (somewhat) aware of what my boys do. 

I might be bored to death by their games, but I do know about them.

Before dinner was ready, my 7-year-old asked me to play a round.  I snatched the control away from him so fast He handed me the control in a mannerly way.  I showed them where several hidden treasures were and how to kill those pesky ninja turtles.  For a moment, I was the Coolest Mom in the Whole. Wide. World.  I rocked!  I got us to Level 5!

Of course, it was short lived as I quickly reverted back to being a big meanie (according to my 4-year-old) by forcing them to turn off the game and eat their (delicious & nutritious) dinner.

But, for a fleeting moment, I was awesome.  It lasted only as long as it took for me to die (with my several extra lives), but it happened.  And I will cherish it forever.