(not my picture, click for source)

There is a way to celebrate a birthday that probably doesn't vary much from place to place. There's cake, of course, and singing of a ritual song. There's food and friends, and laughter. This is pretty much universal.

And then there is the Wii Birthday.

Maybe turning 30 should be recognized as the Wii Birthday. Like the day you are born in a month is your golden birthday, the milestone that signifies that you should stand up and start taking life a little less seriously is your Wii Birthday. The Wii is the grown up video game machine, the one that kids and adults can agree is damn cool. It signifies that you've moved past wires and into the Wii Age.

Mr. Armless Bear turned 30 on Saturday. Mrs. Armless Bear bought him a Wii. And as we gathered around his television, we showed off our Wii Fit. I think it was a big hit. People laughed at the silly games and stood shocked as the Wii trainers chastised their new clients. I'm pretty sure that we've initiated at least one, and possibly more purchases. We should be getting a commission.

We played Link's Crossbow Training, which is how the "gun" attachment allows you to shoot crossbows at targets in the television. The kids went nuts. They loved it. Of course, I don't think that they got the hand/eye coordination, but they hit enough to have fun. Hopefully, I haven't caused any weird nightmares for the kids. But the big surprise was the little girl, C. She had the best results of them all. Better than the two gung-ho boys; probably better than some adults. She was really good. Maybe it's innate.

And then, of course, was Wii Mariocarts. The kids didn't quite get it. They liked driving off the path and into the water, having to be rescued. The adults loved it. Mr. Armless Bear's father got into it and sat on the floor like a big kid driving his character like one of the gang.

Along the Mario theme, we tried MarioParty, which is like a big Mario themed Monopoly game. It was a little odd, I thought, but by that time, the kids were getting restless, and it was time to depart.

And that's how Wii celebrates.