Lockridge said:
Just a general comment:
I can't believe the number of people coming out with the opinion that "if you agree to a game then thats that".
Replace "a game" with:
"dinner plans"
If I spend hours of my time buying, preparing, and cooking food for you, your wife, and two children, do you have any sense of obligation to show?
To let me know you are canceling?
Note, I am not including monetary costs, just my personal time.
So many people who want to act as if people who consider "gaming plans" to be a commitment, and thus must have some social disorder also seem to lack any concept of social obligation, which is plain rude.
I would place lacking the social skills to understand that making plans with someone does indeed place an obligation upon oneself puts someone much further into the "socially dysfunctional" realm then expecting an invited (and invitation-accepted) guest to show, or at least call to say they are canceling.
Lockridge said:
I game for fun and yes a child is a primal force of nature which can change your day and your life in just seconds.
Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.
No, a child is
a child.
You raise them, you teach them, you guide them, and you protect them.
You do not live in fear of them, nor stand back dumbstruck as they "happen".
If (barring illness) you find your children running through your life like a hurricane, beyond your control, go see Dr. Phil.
Having a child does not separate you from the human race, nor does it obligate the world to compensate for your inability to cope.