Stranger Things keep happening… including my son growing up.

Don't worry, this is not a review of Stranger Things and there will be absolutely no spoilers. If you aren't already convinced you should watch this incredibly entertaining show, nothing I say will change your mind.

If these 12 year olds are old enough to fight monsters, I guess my 12 year old son is old enough to watch them do it... by himself.

In a few months, I am going to have a teenager living in my house. No, I am not following @karenb54 's selfless lead and taking in someone else's teenager. My son Timmy will turn 13 shortly. I can't wait for him to become a teenager! (Does anybody know where to find the shortcut in the Markdown Cheatsheet for sarcasm?)

"Well it was nice knowing you childhood Timmy, make sure to have adult Timmy give me a call in about ten years after teenage Timmy gets done hating me."

See? I'm prepared.

No I'm not. No one is prepared for the joys of teenage-hood.

But that is a different post.

Up until now, I have been able to guide Timmy and expose him to the movies that I think contain valuable life lessons. I still have quite a long list to show him. However, now I realize that my list may need to wait. It appears that near-teens have their own minds and tastes (who knew?). They also seem to mature overnight and gain the ability to handle material that was, until very recently, completely off limits. For example...

If you asked me one month ago if I thought my son Timmy would/should watch Stranger Things, I would have chuckled and said, "No way. He's too young. He would be too scared. Maybe next summer I will sit down and watch it with him."

Apparently, a lot can change in one month.

After seeing the show hyped everywhere and hearing all of his friends at school talk about it, Timmy took it upon himself to start watching Stranger Things. Although I truly enjoy sharing common experiences with my son, I purposely let him have this one on his own. He's growing up. He doesn't need to be watching everything with his daddy. Don't get me wrong, I plan on sharing experiences with him for the rest of his life. For example, I have a dream of taking him to see every Star Wars movie on opening night for the next 50 years. In addition there are many geeky conventions we need to attend. Plus there are the full face tattoos of Han Solo and Chewbacca we are planning on getting when he turns 18. (I'm kidding... or am I?)

I can't wait to dress like my teenage son and have creepy staring contests all day long!

But Stranger Things is special. Not only is my son approximately the same age as the characters, they are all geeks like him (the apple doesn't fall too far form the tree). Timmy loves old video games, Dungeons and Dragons, science class, reading comic books, and Star Wars... just like the kids in the show. Because of this, I always thought the show was perfect for me... because I lived it. Now I see that it is also perfect for my son... because he is living it.

That is amazing.

Somehow, this series has managed to build a bridge between my junior high days 30 years ago and my son's current experience (or did it open a gate?). I honestly never even thought of that until I wrote that last paragraph. Perhaps maybe this is a shared experience after all. Our shared experience just happens to be thirty years apart. That seems fitting considering the topic at the center of all of this is a show based on the supernatural.

Is that really the 80s out there? I was expecting more leg warmers and designer jeans.

I have such fond memories of watching The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Darkside when I was my son's age. I am incredibly happy that my son is having a similar experience with Stranger Things. Some shows transcend mere entertainment. I don't mean that they bring enlightenment or reveal the meaning of life. I mean that some shows become so woven into the fabric of a certain culture, that they become a shared experience for members of that culture.

When I was a kid, if I ever wanted to strike up a conversation with a group of kids my age, I could simply ask, "What is your favorite episode of the Brady Bunch?" Even if the kids had no interest in being my friend, they could all answer that simple question. The same was true about The Twilight Zone... but the culture was a little different. At the ripe old age of 12, if I wanted to find out in less than ten seconds if a new kid might potentially become a life long friend, I would simply ask what their favorite Twilight Zone episode was. If they didn't know what I was talking about, odds are they were probably too cool for me.

I truly think Stranger Things has the potential to be that show for my son's generation. The general question that can be answered by anyone in his demographic will most likely involve Harry Potter in some way. That can be the initial "Brady Bunch screening". However, I can picture the true litmus test being: "Who was your favorite character inStranger Things". If they don't know what he is talking about, odds are my son is too cool for them.

In my house, there is only one correct answer. Dustin is the best character in the show.

This seems to have opened up a new chapter of shared experience for my son and I. Instead of us consuming entertainment together and talking about it "on the fly", we have begun to process the events of the show after the fact. Already, my son has asked me a few times, "Was it really like that in the 80s dad?" Yes. Yes it was. And it was awesome! This experience is quite similar to what we do after we have both read the same book. Although I will always enjoy "geeking out" with my son, I am happy to know that just because he is maturing and needs to be more independent, it doesn't mean I will be completely left out... for now.

Even though I felt it was incredibly important for my son to make this experience his own, I absolutely could not resist watching the last 20 minutes of the final episode of season two with him. There were a couple of incredibly important life lessons that I could not risk him missing.

Should I stay (and share those lessons) or should I go?

If I go there will be trouble.

And if I stay it will be double.

I guess those lessons will have to wait for a later post.

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