My Son Conquers the Unbeatable Claw Game in Old Orchard Beach

It was a beautiful evening in Old Orchard Beach at Palace Playland this past Friday night. The sun was setting and all tourists and families were hitting the amusement park.

As the sun set over the beach, the amusement park came alive with a symphony of kids screaming on roller coasters and parents tirelessly prompting their little ones to say "thank you" a hundred times over.

I was with my absolute favorite people in the world, my wife Nelly and our son, Bentley.

We decided to take him to the beach for a one-night-mini-vacation. I wish I could express all of the memories that we fit in to this micro-trip but it would take too long, so I will choose one of my favorites.

We played so many games and enjoyed as many rides as we could but one particular game will last in our memories for a life time.

After we got off of the Ferris wheel, Bentley guided us to the unbeatable claw game.

It was a moment filled with amusement when my son triumphantly conquered the supposedly invincible game, "The Claw," and emerged victorious with Princess Peach as his prize.

However the journey to winning is a tale that needs to be told.

As we approached the game, I immediately started to deter Bentley from playing saying that these types of games are rigged but quickly stopped myself mid-sentence. Bentley asked why I stopped talking and I told him I was sorry. For trying to stop him from trying something. I then told him that hope is a powerful thing and if he thought he could win this, I wanted him to try.

So he marched up to the handles with me behind him helping him guide the claw and we did. The claw pierced through Princess Peach's sideburn and got stuck which lifted her up from the pile of other prizes and we started to jump up and down, screaming with excitement. The joy escalated even more as a crowd gathered around us, cheering for our victory and starting to sing the popular song, "Peaches" from the Mario Brothers movie.

Then, our elation quickly turned into a mix of thrill and concern when the claw became  really stuck under Princess Peach's sideburn.

Despite the predicament, everyone unanimously urged the attendant to crawl into the machine and retrieve Princess Peach for my son. As he did.

That day holds an unforgettable place in my memory, for it passed on a valuable life lesson on being a parent, for me.

It taught me the importance of refraining to let my own past failures or that of what I've witnessed, hinder my baby's endeavors, regardless of the scale or significance.

Especially if the thing he wants to do, is something not many have ever done.