Recently, we found out that our family will be moving. Hubby has a new job, and since, you know, we all kinda really love him and stuff, we're going along with him. :-)

So we told the kids at dinner one night. Had everybody sitting at the table together and everything. He said, "Well, we have some exciting news. We're all going to move to Colorado!"

It's difficult to know what thoughts zip through the brains of children at a moment like that. For about two seconds, their eyes and jaws were wide open, and then... the questions.

"Can we bring the Wii? What about the Wii?"

Really? Wow. I guess it takes a looming major life change to expose one's priorities. I suppose it makes sense that they would be concerned about their video games. We don't have any pets, due to allergies and asthma. I suppose their video games are the closest thing they have to a puppy.

And I must tell you that the second thing they asked, after we assured them that the video games and everything else in the house would be making the trip with us, was whether they could bring their friends. So it's not like they don't have any human friends.

It got me to wondering about the popularity of video games among kids these days. When I was a young girl, my favorite things were dolls, horses, a BB gun, and an Easy-Bake Oven. My brother collected Hot Wheels cars and played baseball. Other kids collected baseball cards and action figures.

Few families in my town had cable television back in the late 1970s, and almost nobody had a video game system. Now, lots of families have game consoles or handheld devices. My kids would play constantly if I let them. Does anybody collect baseball cards anymore? I don't know. My kids don't.

And before you judge me a terrible mother, you should know that my kids do enjoy playing outdoors and doing non-video game activities (when I make them), like reading, running around, getting dirty, building with Legos, etc. But video games are still their favorite hobby. I'd bet there are lots of other kids who are the same way. What's it like at your house?

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