Clearly, I live under a rock… And most of the time, I’m pretty okay with that. This fun fact is pointed out to me on a fairly regular basis, and more recently by my daughter, Olivia, though in not so many words. This time, it came about after her sudden obsession with Pokémon cards. Apparently, this “new” craze has been running rampant in her classroom for several weeks now, and frankly, I’m still confused. I was like, where are the kids getting them… antique stores…?!?! But nope, they are ALLLLLL over the place – 26 years later and these things are still going strong and can be found in every store in town.
If you’re reading this and saying to yourself, “What the hell is a Pokémon card?” I’m right there with ya! I still don’t really know, and they were around when I was a kid. Nonetheless, these cards are now all over my house. It’s an invasion, I tell you! I even have a Pokémon card currently sitting on my desk that Olivia gave me the other day because I thought the strange little creature on it was cute (in a deranged racoon sort of way).
And heaven help me… I tried to look up how to play the game (evidently there’s a game) so that I could help Olivia learn it. But after a 15-minute YouTube video explaining all the ins and outs of this mysterious game, I gave up entirely and promptly ate some aspirin. Thankfully, Olivia is more than happy to simply collect and trade these silly cards using her allowance, of course (I don’t believe in throwing my money away). Which is a relief since I’m not sure I have the brain capacity to learn how to play the dumb game, nor the patience to figure out the seemingly endless symbols all over the cards and the meanings behind them.
I’m not sure how Pokémon has managed to keep its popularity after all these years, but I’d sure like to chat with their marketing team. Clearly, they’re nailing it. I’d also like to pitch a new trading card game called Poky-Mom. I think it could be a hit. The kids could collect their Pokémon cards and the moms could trade their Poky-Mom cards. In fact, I’ve designed and printed a sample card for my daughter because I’m a smart ass like that – I mean, fun like that. (See graphic above.)
I’m thinking they could all be excuses as to why moms are late. Just picture it… A mom rolls into work 10 minutes late, and then hands her boss a Poky-Mom card that reads: This mom would have actually been early, but her child threw a fit for 45 minutes because they didn’t want to wear shoes to school. Or moms could give other moms energy cards. Like a card that reads: This mom really needs a stiff drink and some kid-free time. Wanna find babysitters and hang out?
I think I’m on to something. Gaming Companies, I look forward to your call and will be working on my business proposal… In the meantime, this mama could use a latte and a muffin. Wanna meet at the coffee shop…?
PS: Olivia thought the Poky-Mom card I gave her was hilarious! After receiving it, she immediately made a coffee card to go with it and took them to school.
