Wiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!

We have a Wii. That's just fun to say. Anyway, we're not big gamers. I mean, I can usually beat my nephew at Mortal Kombat, but I can't get into all this Halo/Call of Duty/World of Warcraft stuff. The Wii, however, is for those of us who are not gamers. You don't have to memorize combinations of buttons to press together at the proper time. If you want to play tennis, swing the remote around like a tennis racket. If you want to play golf, use the remote like a golf club. There's a game called Smooth Moves where you play all these silly mini-games and you have to use the remote different ways, like as an elephant's trunk or a steering wheel. You can also download old Nintendo games cheaply, like Super Mario World, which is definitely the best of the Mario games. It only cost me $8. 

I got a game called Wii Fit for Christmas. It's kind of a game/workout program. There's yoga, strength training, balance games, and aerobics. I really like the yoga and I'm surprisingly good at it. The balance games are fun - there's a ski slalom, ski jumping, and a game where you hit soccer balls with your head and dodge cleats and panda bear heads. The aerobics is good, too. You can do step aerobics or run or hula hoop. Wii Fit will do a body test if you want it to, which can be rather disconcerting, as it will tell you your BMI and your weight. It keeps track of weight loss and how often you exercise. One of the best things about the Wii is that it gets you up off the couch and moving around. 

Another feature of the Wii are the Miis. You can go to the Mii Channel on your Wii and create your own avatar. It's amazing how like you they can look. We have lots of Miis on our Wii - one for just about everyone who's ever played it. There's one for me, one for Todd, my nephew, his friend Tanner, several of our friends, my mom, and my dad. The one my dad made looks so much like him it's uncanny. This Mii has the same color hair, the glasses, the nose, everything. Many games use the Miis; like when you're bowling you'll see different Miis in the background or if you're playing baseball they'll be on your team or on the opposing team. I like running with the Wii Fit. It's not a long distance and Miis run by you, waving and smiling. They even cheer you on and are waiting for you at the finish line. It's really neat to be running along and pass by my dad. I know it's not real; I know he's gone. But it feels good to see him. Today I was running a longer distance than usual and I didn't see him. I was sad. Where was he? Had the machine malfunctioned and deleted his Mii? He was there, though, clapping and smiling for me as I approached the finish line. 

I really don't know how to end this. I could tell you I'm not crazy, but you may not believe me if you've ever spent any real time with me. I could tell you that this month marks a year since my dad died, but I don't want to be a downer. I just wanted to share my happy moment - playing a fun game and seeing an old friend. What's better than that?