"WHO KNEW THE GAME OF LIFE WOULD BE LIKE REAL LIFE?!"
OK...I know I said that if we ever asked you to play a game with our family NOT to. So, why did I do that, you may be asking yourself. Well, I suppose I just got caught up in the holiday spirit and quite simply LOST MY MIND!
Caitlin and I were doing some last minute Christmas shopping one day and she said, "Hey, can I go over and look at the board games? Let's get a new one to play over the holidays." I must admit that I just went along with it because I was pretty worn out from all the Christmas hubbub; you know, sort of like the mom of a kid who keeps asking..."Mama, can I?...Huh, huh, huh? PLEASE Mama...can I?" Finally, you are just worn out and numb and wearily say, "OK." Well, I thought...what harm could a little game cause? Perhaps I was suffering from a temporary case of amnesia. Whatever the case, Caitlin came back around the corner carrying "The Game of Life". She said she had fond memories of playing that game as a child...she loved getting the little cars and filling them up with babies. Hmmm...OK, so I also remembered playing that game many years ago myself. I told her to throw it in the shopping cart. And this is where the event becomes a cautionary tale. Our memories of certain events tend to only allow us to remember the things that are either very pleasant or very unpleasant...not most of the "in-between" stuff.
All I can say is that I am thankful that only Ryan, Caitlin, Robby and I actually played "The Game of Life"...because I am not sure if I could have survived the entire family participating. First, let me say that I do NOT remember there being so many rules in that game! Me...I don't really have the time or inclination to read the rules...everyone else??? Oh, they read them all right...ALL THROUGH THE ENTIRE PLAYING OF THE GAME! So, as I sat down to play this game, I saw immediately that things were going to be EXACTLY like they were in Monopoly. First, Ryan HAD to be the "Banker". Standing up the entire game (as though he were at a teller window), he managed the money, loan notes and all other cards that instructed the players what to do. Robby was just an aggressive, ambitious player, who was out to WIN the game at all cost. Caitlin, who remember wanted to play this game because she "liked to fill her car up with babies", ended up having NO babies in her car at the end of the game and disappointingly stated that she did not want to play it again. Me?...Well, I drew two career cards to choose from. Guess what one of them was...you've got it! A teacher. I rolled on one turn and ended up married and then before I even made the curve, I had four kids! I also landed on additional spots to have two more kids, but had no more room in my car, so couldn't take them. See...I TOLD you this game was like "REAL LIFE'; or at least like "OUR" real lives.
The Game of Life was pretty stressful to play, I must say. What with all the rule reading and money passing hands and people shouting, "I got a raise on this payday...give me my money!" And, of course me...I just wanted to MOVE MY OWN CAR! Hey, part of the way through the game, I shouted, "LET ME MOVE MY OWN CAR...I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT COLOR I AM!" Not to mention that the two doxies insisted on sitting on my lap the entire game...which would not have been much of a problem if I hadn't been sitting at the bar on a bar stool. Try balancing 2 weenie dogs on your legs for over an hour and see how easy you think it is! OK...so,here is how the game ended up. As I said, Caitlin got married, but had no kids. However, she was an attorney and finished the game second only to Robby. I told you he was the ambitious one. He was a doctor who ended up winning the entire game, because there was no salary cap on his profession...actually he nor Caitin had salary caps, thus continuing to get raises throughout the entire game. Ryan finished third. He started out the game being a mechanic, living in a mobile home and then changed careers and became a pro athlete...with no salary cap. Me?...well, I did NOT choose to be the teacher (like I was in real life); I chose to be the computer programmer. Neither of my choices set me up to win the game, for both had salary caps...which I met quite quickly. Then, I turned around and had to turn my modest home in for a mansion! What with the four kids and all...and after paying the bank back all of my loans...quite simply put; I was broke!
Well, they say that art imitates life...or is it life imitates art? Hmmm...I don't really know. However, I DO know one thing..."The Game of Life" imitates "REAL LIFE" way too much to play it very often!
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