Virtual Cabin in the Woods

I'm so obsessed with having a farm some day that I "play" at having one, computer-style.

For those of you who have Facebook accounts, you might know about "My Farm".

As I tend my simulated livestock and harvest my pixelated fruit trees, it brings me some happiness and staves off my need for a real farm some day.

My nephews find similar gratification in that looking after their farm is the first thing they want to do every morning. They send me trees and animals (even goats!), and are so good at this game that their farms are huge and they have saved up enough farm cash to buy barns, wood sheds, chicken coops, and multiple other high-end farm accoutrements.

I would go so far as to say this game is educational for them, in that they learn about what crops produce the best money and, since the crops grow by themselves, they need to be checked and cared for often. It also allows me frequent interaction with these boys, which the 7 hour drive between us makes difficult.

I know that simulated farms and games will never give me the real in-person experience of playing with my nephews or working my buns off on a farm. But while I'm in the phase of sitting on those buns at a desk all day, it is the next best thing and gives fodder to my dreams.