Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

I don't have much to say with today's blog, but I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on something special to me. At this, the most wonderful time of the year, I wanted to say thank you to my maternal grandparents.

I already had an Atari gaming system by the time I was seven years old (thanks cousin DJ), so video games were an entity that I was familiar with. But, something glorious was about to happen. My Grandma and Grandpa gifted to my brother Joshua and I our original Nintendo Entertainment System at Christmas in the year 1989.

The gift that started it all -- the Nintendo Action Set.

For twenty five years, I've been playing original NES games -- Mario, Donkey Kong, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man... the list goes on an on. I owe it all to my grandparents, to which I'm very thankful. I'm thirty-two years old this year and have amassed hundreds of NES game cartridges; my collection continues to grow.

Having a Nintendo helped shape who I was as a child. It encouraged creativity and strategic thinking at an early age. My Nintendo pushed me to think outside the box and solve puzzles. That little grey box took me on an adventure.

I've been hooked ever since.

My Nintendo is still hooked up and ready to play at a moment's notice. I don't have to worry about scratched discs or a faulty internet connection. You just open the front flap, insert the cartridge and press the power button (a few seconds of blowing on the cartridge might be necessary). We might live in a hyper-realistic digital gaming age, but all I need to be happy are eight tiny bits.

Grandma, Grandpa... wherever you are in this universe... thanks.