Tortuga

When Andrés, my oldest son, was 9, we were watching a video about Logo, the programming language. He got especially excited with Turtle Graphics, where you have a "pen" on screen that you can draw with using commands to move it.

That night I started a project using p5.js and my limited programming skills to do just that, drawing with commands, replacing my missing knowledge with unnecessary overcomplication and spaghetti code. But hey! It worked!

We called it Tortuga, honoring the Logo concept of Turtle Graphics. Andrés loved it. He spent months coming back to it, and we added some features during that time: loops, an additional set of color "inks", and guide lines for the position and direction of the turtle.

Cut to 7 years later, I'm watching a Daniel Shiffman video on fractals at night, when my youngest kid, Alan, sits by my side. He watches for a while and starts commenting and asking questions. He's fascinated by the concept of using code to draw things.

You already know what happened next: I brought my computer to the living room, showed him Tortuga, and he was blown away. We sketched a skeleton house, then he asked me for two things: permission to stay up late, and the link to the web app.

I love these tiny moments. These parallels between the two kids. A 48-year-old dad and a 9-year-old son sitting in front of a screen, not consuming, but creating. Being nerds together.

This is what life is made of.