It's amazing how much a simple message can be such a great help.  I've had an especially rough time lately with my health and longtime readers will remember my decades-long fight with Crohn's Disease and its accompanying issues.  Earlier this year my pancreas joined the party with its own problems, and now for the past few weeks I've been pushing myself through extra pain and difficulties with digesting enough nutrition.  Just making it through a regular day or work and daily responsibilities is a physically overwhelming prospect sometimes.  I've spent a lot of time resting in bed, usually with my Nintendo Switch within reach.  Kirby Star Allies has taken up my Switch time over the past few months off and on, and I found a surprising boost in an unexpected place.

Kirby has access to so many power and abilities over the course of the game that it's easy to forget how to control him sometimes, so the game's pause screen includes a recap of what Kirby can do in his current state: fire, ice, electric, ninja, etc.  Whenever Kirby is just plain ol' Kirby, however, there's not much to say about him, so instead the developers included a short message about how Kirby believes in the player no matter how tough things are.  I was surprised by how much a little encouragement from a fictional character helped boost my spirits when I was up in the middle of the night with pain and unable to sleep.  If Kirby believes in me, how can I lose?