That title may sound ridiculous, but I couldn’t be more serious when I say that the Mass Effect series taught me an extremely important lesson about parenting that I have done my best to never forget.
It happened on the night that I finished Mass Effect 3, the climax to the epic story that had started all the way back in the first game. I remember it being on a weekday evening when I fired up my Xbox 360, hoping that tonight would be the night when I would finally see the conclusion. I played on and on, watching as the time kept getting later and later. I needed to go to bed. I had work the next day, but I didn’t care. I was near the end and I knew it. I had waited for so long to see what the final fate would be of all these characters I had come to know and love. At last, the moment came when I knew I had done it. I sat my controller down and watched as the ending I had worked so hard for appeared before me on my TV.
When it was finally over, I can remember feeling a great sense of excitement and accomplishment. But then, another feeling came in, one of sadness. I took the game out of my Xbox 360 and put the first Mass Effect in. I remember getting to the title screen, putting the controller down, and just sitting there.
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the music from the ME1 title screen, but it’s some of my favorite from the entire franchise. It’s a hauntingly beautiful tune that gives me a melancholy feeling when I hear it and it’s used for that exact effect at various other points in the series. Click the link below to check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_JVEXDrJYg
That night, as I sat there in the dark of my room listening to it and reflecting on this journey I had gone through, the realization sank in.
It’s over.
It’s all over.
Oh sure, there was still some DLC (downloadable content) to play later on, but that was just an add-on. The main story itself was finished. My time in this universe and with these characters had concluded.
What I remember the most about that night was that feeling of genuine sadness. I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want to leave this world behind and everything it had brought me. Yet, there was no turning back. I could always play through the entire series again, but it wouldn’t be the same. Nothing would ever be like that first play through. That experience of meeting all those characters for the first time and witnessing all the events of the story when each one was fresh and new was something that I would never get again.
Fast forward to now, years into the future.
I am in a very different place in life. I was a single man in my 20’s when I finished ME3. Now I’m nearly 40, married, and the father of two, soon to be three, children. A lot has happened in my life in those years. However, as I have seen my kids grow and become more like little people rather than little babies, there is something that I learned from playing the Mass Effect games that has stuck with me.
Enjoy this moment, because you’ll only get it once.
My kids are still little at the time of writing this and they still have much of their childhood in front of them. But, as so many other parents have told me, these times won’t last forever. In fact, they don’t even last that long. It seems like with each passing day time somehow moves faster and faster. I once read where someone said The days are long but the years are short and I have come to believe those may be the truest words ever spoken when it comes to being a parent. My self all those years ago felt sad that he would never get the chance to experience Mass Effect again for the first time. Now I find myself dealing with watching my kids grow up right before my eyes knowing that the river of time only flows one direction and it flows quickly. No matter how hard I may try, there is no stopping it. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow will soon be here.
When my first child was born I made a promise to him that I would do my best to live in the moment and not ever take any time with him for granted. I want to make every day, hour, minute, and second count. Sometimes I am more successful at this than others. Sometimes I fail when I allow other things to get in the way or I simply get distracted. Still, I try as hard as I can, because I want him and his siblings to grow up remembering that Dad did his best to be there every chance he could. He wasn’t perfect, and sometimes he messed up, but he never stopped trying.
In a way, I’m grateful to the Mass Effect games. When I see anything about Mass Effect nowadays, it reminds me to never take anything for granted and to make the most of every moment. I hope one day to get to play through those games again with my kids, especially since Mass Effect 4 is now on the horizon.
It’s a moment I definitely want to make the most of.