Lest You Think We Only Play Mario Kart

Chloe and I played a game this afternoon.  I'm usually hesitant to play with the kids because I hate losing.   When I do play with the kids, I end up trash talking them, and then they cry, and then I feel badly.  I just hate losing.  (Remember previous post about competitiveness?)  And I really hate losing games of chance so Candyland and the like drive me crazy.  The game I always refuse to play?  Trouble.  With four players, the game never ends.  Yesterday, I agreed to play it with the kids.  (A weak moment.)  The kids asked if we could put it up because they didn't like my attitude.  Oops.

But today, Chloe asked to play Scrabble.  I love Scrabble.  It's intellectual.  It requires focus.  It doesn't have a die stuck in a plastic bubble.  It's my favorite. But, it's really hard for kids.  It's even harder for a kid who struggles a bit with reading and spelling.  I was hesitant to say yes to this request.  I cannot control my competitive nature.  (At one point, Tony disallowed me playing games with church people.)  I did not want to frustrate Chloe.  I want her to love words as much as I do.  I want her to know I love her.  I said sure.

We used every letter!

And you know what?  For the first 6 rounds, she was beating me.  I have never been happier (or more surprised) to be losing.  She was on a roll.  Not only was she playing words, she was playing good words that were spelled correctly.  She was strategizing what words to play where for the most points.  I couldn't believe it.  I ended up coming back on a few 30+ point words, but she held her own. 

Final Score:

Mommy 283  Chloe 201

For those of you who know Chloe, you already know that she is a great kid.  Sweet, helpful, thoughtful.  Now, she's on her way to becoming a Scrabble player.  And although she ended up with fewer points than me, she's still the better player.  After we finished playing, she was able to sincerely congratulate me on my win.