Sorry......

As in "the game" of Sorry. This is one of Callum's "big three" games right now, meaning he is interested in this, Pass the Pigs, and Zingo (which can be seen on the table in back of him in this picture below). Zingo was his cousin Emma's favorite game and we used to play it with her all the time; it is like a childhood "bingo" where, instead of numbers, you try to fill your card with chips containing pictures of animals, nature things, etc.

Sorry is an appopriate game for Callum to be playing right now, since he is at that age where he wants to "win" at everything all the time. I notice this mostly with running bicycling; whenever we are out riding or running, everything needs to turn into a "race" and he has to be in the front. I have been really trying to express to him that winning isnt everything, but, as most four year olds would attest, " daddy, it IS."

But with games, there are rules, just as there are rules in life. The other day we really shared a "moment" together as we played while Maira napped. In the game of Sorry, if I land on the square where YOU are, then you have to put your gamepiece back to the "Start" square, and thus start the game over (even if you were very close to winning....as Callum was at that point). Well, low and behold, I landed on Callum's piece and explained to him how he had to go back to the beginning. Obviously, he didnt want to do this and he kept trying to change the subject. We went back and forth until finally I told him that if he wasnt going to follow the rules then I didnt want to play with him anymore (using a very calm voice, of course). IMMEDIATELY, he puts his gamepiece in the box, says he doesnt want to play anymore, and SPRINTS upstairs to his playroom, where I found him cowering in the corner. What followed was truly a magical conversation we shared about how sometimes in life, we have to do things we dont want to do, etc etc. At any rate, I think I reached him, because we went back down to play, and he started following the rules. Oh, and as a sidenote, without any help from me, he still won!

WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO A FOUR YEAR OLD?? You may say. Good point. But if there is one thing that I see from working with kids today it is that they are very entitled, they HAVE to win, they HAVE to have things work out their way, and, frankly, they dont have to work hard to achieve these 'rewards.' I really believe there is value in losing and learning how to deal with unfair, aggravating situations. Callum might think I am "mean" and "not fun to play with," as he says, but I am hopeful that someday he will thank me for practicing this type of 'tough love.'

Still, we always make sure to have FUN be the main focus of our game time! We love games and hope to play a lot of them with our kids. I know that Amanda and I enjoy playing mind games with each other all the time, for example!

Finally, I tried to upload more pictures from the race, but they wouldnt load the other night! Computer being fishy. #helpusgeorge

Here are Dave and I together after the race--it was, by the thermometer in my car's estimation, 87 degrees at the finish line. I could not drink enough that day!

And a big congratulations goes to Conner, who won second place in his age group (a huge accomplishment, since there were two hundred runners in the entire race!).. He got a cute widdly myedal, myeah, and everyone at the breakfast restaurant was complimenting him. ....He'll run XC for Wheaton College (where I went to Nursery School for a bit) in the fall. My mom will have him over for snyack, and Jay will no doubt harass him unmerciful.