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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Timely Topics - Do you have Guilt when Gaming?

I was hoping to have Key Market opened, photographed and ready for posting today. I had been anxious all day to get into it in the evening. Well, with Scouts (I'm a Den Leader for my son's Wolf Den), getting kids rounded up for bed, editing my daughter's school paper and dealing with other chores (including cleaning up my Board Game Back Room before friends come over tomorrow and this weekend), it got late. Really late. (note the time I'm posting this!)

I think this is the typical life of the gamer with family and responsibilities. It's difficult to fit gaming in sometimes. Or, if you do manage to get some gaming in you might feel guilty about it, that you should be helping your spouse with chores or spending time with the kids instead. I used to feel guilty when I had a game night and was running out the door and my wife was left with screaming kids or dirty dishes. But as soon as I got home I tried to make sure I jumped into chores or something else that needed to be done to make sure I was doing my fair share.

I still do this and still sometimes feel a bit guilty when I'm gone all day long playing games, but I think my wife and I have learned how to balance family needs with personal time and space. Gaming is an escape for me - to leave behind the pressures of the real world and relax a bit, spend time with friends, and just have a good time. Feeling guilt for having that time detracts from it.


So, I make sure to give my wife her own personal time and space as well - she can go spend time with her friends or her Mom or just shopping without the kids and I take care of things back home. And then, neither of us needs to feel guilty as long as we have our fair share.

Balance is the key and achieving that is an ongoing process. Now, almost 3 years into the world of gaming, I don't feel nearly as guilty and can really enjoy myself.

Do you feel guilt when spending time away from your family gaming? If so, how do you deal with it? Leave a comment and let me know!

p.s. I'm gaming Wednesday night, so not sure if Key Market will get cracked open yet, but probably the next day at the latest. I'm anticipating it - I hope you are too.

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3 comments:

  1. Do you feel guilty about your test comment? Do you often comment on your own posts? :-)

    Guilt.
    Guilt is the bread and butter of the Catholic Italians. It's over-rated. I've learned to live with my guilt and eventually it becomes white-noise in the background. Fortunately I have a brilliant wife who has always been supportive of my hobbies & friends. No reflection on Lydna, who is awesome as well! But guilt over gaming rarely crops up for me. I have enough of it ingrained in me since childhood to last the rest of my life.

    The only moments of guilt I feel due to gaming, is when I click on the shopping cart submit button for the fourth time in a month... "but fer cryin' out loud, it's only $18 for Middle-Earth Quest!"

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  2. I never feel guilty about test comments. They are like little children with so much hope and possibility.

    Well, I'm getting past my guilt of playing. Not sure who this Lydna is you mention, but my wife LYNDA is generally supportive as well (as long as she gets her own time, too ;) )

    Now, clicking that shopping cart submit button....that's a whole other topic. And don't forget bidding in BGG auctions!

    ReplyDelete

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