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Hey PS4, Your System Offered a Revelation

Thank Goodness for Slow Downloads.

By TiffPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Photo by Lucie Liz (Pexels)

The week before the big day, my son, like most 10-year-olds, is super excited about Christmas. He began December with subtle questions about how many days there were before the day and had I begun to think about the decorations for our apartment. I guess seeing that I had not started like I mentioned I would pull out the infamous celebratory red, green, gold, and silver right after Thanksgiving, gave him pause.

As the days passed, my son decided it best to write a Christmas toy list, and I encouraged it to be the bottom line person that I am. I watched him ponder, write, list, cross out, and write some more. When he finished about 20 minutes later, he proudly handed it to me. 

With a smile on his face and mine too, seeing it was only a list of 4 things, he chose one that was most important - Spiderman Miles Morales Game for his PS4, which he's had for a year. He made it very clear to me that he was asking for the game and not the movie because I already bought that for him last year. Seeing that Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, of course, my response was, "Will do!"

The hunt was on! 

Who knew (I guess everyone but me.) that the Spiderman Miles Morales Game for the PS4 was sold out by this time. Just my luck, my son hardly ever asks for anything, even being 10, and the one thing he wrote on his Christmas list, in uppercase letters with two circles around it, was, of course, that game. As I searched online and in every store I could think of, nothing. 

Me, being clueless to the PS4 world had no idea what to do at this point, so I made a decision that horrified me to even think of it. I will just woman up and just tell him that there were no more in stock anywhere and that as soon as it comes back into stock, I would purchase it, even saying I would take him along with me for the ride.

Then there was one phone call with a store associate who schooled me about the ability to PlayStation "cards" to download the game. Eureka! I had begun to feel better, imagining him tearing into his Christmas stocking (yep, I still give them to my kids) and finding the cards, crowning me Queen Mommy of Christmas!

The Big Day 

The big day had arrived and my son funneled through the gifts he asked for, and a few he didn't, finally diving into his stocking. So excited he was to find the cards! Not really knowing what they were for but believing he had hit the jackpot seeing the game system's symbol on both. 

As I explained how and took him through the process of how he would be getting Miles Morales on Christmas after all, the downloading began. Encouraged to have breakfast while he waited patiently for the game to prepare, he did just that.

He returned to the living room after eating, checked the TV screen to see if all was well so that his future continuous playtime could begin. After 15 minutes, it was still in download mode. Then 30 more, then 60 more, then… By this time, I wanted to cry. In the meantime, I researched and found that it was the slow internet speed that caused the less than appreciated momentum. My son, at this point, suggested that he would go and indulge in other activities while he waited.

Photo by Nappy (Pexels)

I was so impressed with his responses. So, he waited an hour, then 2 then another 4 hours. Not one word did he utter that was negative or a complaint. I remember teaching him values where you shouldn't complain but be patient and/or find a solution. Who knew he was actually listening during my soapbox lectures about integrity and accountability. 

Yet, we could all see that he had decided that having to wait rather than not to have the game at all was a privilege. This could have turned into a sad day, in the eyes of a 10-year-old, however. I'd never seen such determination of patience and him speaking of how grateful he was to even have the game, even though waiting was a task, he promised himself he'd endure. I thought, "All the times I saw these games as just a filler of empty time, PS4 has brought out the best in my son."

Conclusion

During his wait time, the download continued. Drained his patience (along with mine) and placed him in the position where he chose to create more positive blurbs to assist him through this process. For every check "game check," he'd pat me on my back with a "Hang in there," when he really was reminding himself, I believe. 

From 9 am until 6 pm, he held his position of gratitude with a touch of anxiety waiting, still. More importantly, I learned more about my tween's integrity through one of the most popular gamer systems. Who knew on Christmas day that he'd learn more than reaching levels and earning points.

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About the Creator

Tiff

Black Woman, Mom, Writer, Teacher. Chooses to live life on our terms.

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