(Gaming) Self-Care Isn't Selfish
As is usual in our house, my wife went to bed at 8:30pm and I went into my man-cave to play on the Playstation 4 to relax and unwind, sloughing off the days hard work of teaching. This is the daily weekday routine in our house and initially I had a sense of guilt of staring at the screen late into the light (until about 11pm) whilst my wife and children were sleeping; shouldn't I be doing something more productive instead? Looking through the bills or doing some chores?
However, as time has passed so has my sense of guilt. Some perspective: often my wife goes to bed with her iPad ready to catch up on some BBC documentary about India or women's rights whilst I decompress by jumping on some Goombas, explore a dungeon or climb some colossi, ready to plunge a sword into their sacred sigil (not a euphemism) and I realised... we both spend quality family time together with the kids until 7pm, then it's the usual bedtime routine for the sprogs and a chat and dinner for my wife and I, followed by a quick look at Channel 4 news.
Usually this is followed by an episode or two of the series we are working though, which at the time of writing is Jane The Virgin. Then, it's off to bed for the missus and into Skyrim, Hyrule or some other fantastical land for me.
We each have our way to chill and it isn't always Netflix... This is a love story for the ages, unwinding in your own unique ways keeps marriages and relationships healthy.