To Rule or not to Rule
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I played a game of Life--The Game of Life--with my four year old today. It got me thinking about how kids reach an age when the rules matter. And playing games becomes strategic. But on the flip side of that... I think personality plays a huge role in what a little person carries with them into adulthood.
I loved this version of The Game of Life with my four-year-old because the rules didn't matter. She wanted to be a computer designer, she was a computer designer... we didn't take out loans or worry about money. We didn't even start with money at all. She didn't want to get married, so there was no marriage, but when we hit that point after wedding bells and the square for having a baby came along, she decided to have a baby. She wanted to live in the RV...and no, she did not want to upgrade to the mansion. When she was supposed to spend 65K on some "event"--a vacation, I think--she said, No. She wasn't going to do that.
As I sat there, enjoying this game way more than I ever would have with all the rules, I thought about what it would have been like if my husband had sat down to play with her. They would have had fun, and maybe she would have been given the opportunity to learn something... all I know is, I'm pretty sure there would have been some pressure to play "by the rules." The guiding hand of a loving father to create order.
Maybe we need that balance. I know it keeps a certain couple on our toes in compromise. But it also keeps life interesting and fun. My husband has helped me create order where order is essential--like the checkbook, and I throw in the chaos--or flare, reminding him that the side trips are okay, too. We don't always have to get where we are going in a straight line.
Hope you all are having a great week.
With Love,
Beth
I loved this version of The Game of Life with my four-year-old because the rules didn't matter. She wanted to be a computer designer, she was a computer designer... we didn't take out loans or worry about money. We didn't even start with money at all. She didn't want to get married, so there was no marriage, but when we hit that point after wedding bells and the square for having a baby came along, she decided to have a baby. She wanted to live in the RV...and no, she did not want to upgrade to the mansion. When she was supposed to spend 65K on some "event"--a vacation, I think--she said, No. She wasn't going to do that.
As I sat there, enjoying this game way more than I ever would have with all the rules, I thought about what it would have been like if my husband had sat down to play with her. They would have had fun, and maybe she would have been given the opportunity to learn something... all I know is, I'm pretty sure there would have been some pressure to play "by the rules." The guiding hand of a loving father to create order.
Maybe we need that balance. I know it keeps a certain couple on our toes in compromise. But it also keeps life interesting and fun. My husband has helped me create order where order is essential--like the checkbook, and I throw in the chaos--or flare, reminding him that the side trips are okay, too. We don't always have to get where we are going in a straight line.
Hope you all are having a great week.
With Love,
Beth
