Calfgrit11 discovered Minecraft a couple of months ago. I knew of Minecraft, had heard of it, for many months, myself, but I hadn’t investigated it. I had seen some screenshots, and watched some videos, but it didn’t look particularly interesting to me. Plus, I was already busy and just didn’t have time to take up a new game.

CG11 got so enamored with it when he saw it at a friend’s house that he actually started saving up money to purchase it for himself. That’s a real sign of strong interest. When he downloaded it to his mother’s computer, it became an obsession. He showed me the things he was doing and building, but still I wasn’t enticed. Calfgrit7 also became interested in it, and played some on his brother’s account. After a few weeks, I decided to study up on it a bit. I learned that I could set up a server and we could play together. So I eventually bought and downloaded my own copy, as well as the server files.

I had the server working a few days before I told anyone about it. I wanted to build something impressive to surprise the boys with when they logged in. I built a castle floating in the sky, above the clouds. When I announced the existence of the server world, both boys were excited. And they were blown away by my castle construction. I was declared a master builder.

Now, I’ve seen screenshots and videos of some amazing structures, so I know my own castle is not anything near a master design. But I still basked in the admiration from my young sons. I left the server running so they could play on it as they were allowed to use “electronics time” during the week, (mostly on weekends). I told them they could do, destroy, and build anything and anywhere they wanted on the server so long as they left my castle alone. They could visit my castle, see what I’ve built, (and I kept on adding to my design), and if they asked permission first, they might even be allowed to add some stuff, (like beds and chests).

Then one night while Wifegrit and I were at Calfgrit11’s school to meet his teachers, we got a call from home. (Wifegrit’s mother was sitting the boys.) Calfgrit11 called to let me know something terrible had happened. He and Calfgrit7 were distraught. Calfgrit7 had been “griefing” his brother, (something I said was not allowed on my server), and things got out of hand. Lava had been spilled on my castle! Yes, lava had been spilled on my castle.

When the “accident” happened, both boys immediately tried to stop the lava with pouring water on it and with piling stone on the flow. But damage had been done, and there was now a long fall of both lava and water pouring from my castle. Plus, stones had been piled and added to my structure. Both boys were very upset, even crying. I explained over the phone, while standing in the school hallway, that we’d fix everything when I got home.

This is what I came home to on my server:

The lava flow had started on the top, glass, area of the castle, and the boys had managed to push it off and repair most of the damage by the time I got home. But there was still a tower of stone, water, and lava running down the side. The grassy land below the castle was a pile of destruction, and flooded with water on one side and burning with lava on the other. I was both amazed and dumbfounded. How the heck had they managed that mess?

Well, it took a few hours over the next few days to get the mess cleared up. I put out the lava. I incorporated the water fall into my castle’s design. But the ground remained an area of devastation, so I just used that devastation as an excuse to create a cavernous hole in the ground all the way down to the void.

I used this situation to teach the boys a lesson about dealing with mistakes. I calmly explained how to take a problem and think about 1- how to solve it, and 2- consider if it can be turned into something good. I want them to, instead of panic and get upset over mistakes and problems, to pause, think, and figure out how to handle it.

But, even with the lesson, the rule now is that neither of them can even go on/in my castle without my permission right then. I’ve considerably expanded my structure since that day, and I really don’t want to have to spend anymore time repairing anything. Now I’ve become completely addicted to this game.

Bullgrit