Family Game Night

Wednesdays are Family Game Night. It started as a way to force ManChild to interact with the family, but since he's been gone, its been MUCH more fun, and we regularly have guest family members playing with us. Tonight was SkaterBoy's best bud, 16, who pushed to the very limits of his curfew to stay and finish the game. BabyGirl LIVES for Game Night and everyone wants it to be their turn to pick the game. This week, I picked The Game of Life.

Wouldn't it be great if life was really like the game?

BabyGirl rushed from the get go. She didn't go to college, but ended up being a computer whiz with the highest salary available. She was the first to get a paycheck, the first to buy a house, the first to have children, and the first to retire, with a nice little nest egg. She ended up in second place.

SkaterBoy played by the seat of his pants. Looking for the easy money anywhere he could get it. He went to college and became an accountant after figuring out that we'd all be paying HIM when the taxes were due. He bought a beautiful house, had baby after baby after baby, but never had to pay anything for any of them, just kept collecting from all of us whenever we got hit with taxes. He came in third.

GoodBuddy was the careful player. He is the only player who bought stock, was the first to pay off his student loans, insured everything he had and made a modest salary as an athelete. He ended the game with only three life tiles (which, if you're not familiar with the game, you get when you do something.. anything.. skydiving, winning the nobel prize, planning family game night... just getting out gets you a life card). GB played it safe and followed all the rules. He came in dead last!

Me... I was the doctor. I started with a small salary, but ended up with the high pay for long enough to have built up quite a savings. I had a modest but nice home, no insurance, no stock. I had two children, that I paid for on one turn. I paid taxes more often than anyone else, but I also landed on the most humanitarian spaces.... even won a nobel prize! hahaha I was the last player to retire, which meant I collected life tiles long after everyone else was enjoying their retirement. I ended up with twice as much money as BabyGirl! Slow and steady really did win the race.

I can only hope, as I get my life together and head into this new adventure, that real life imitates the game. I'm more than willing to work for what I earn, but I've been slow and steady for so long.... I can't wait to see where I end up in the grand scheme of things. I anxiously await the results in this huge Game of Life.