Just finished playing the game of Life with my 8-year-old.
No, I really did. I mean, literally.
I get a private giggle during this board game by pretending I am some cosmic recorder of his future. Every move he makes predicts what will happen to him. I am the Goddess of Prediction: Miltonia Bradlysnome.
He chooses the path leading to college (good boy), therefore going heavily into debt (might as well get used to that now), but lands right on "Spring Break in the Bahamas," or something like that. I cringe at the image of buxom beach babes surrounding my beer-guzzling baby boy, who is, of course, still only 8 in this daydream. His career card makes him a doctor (stereotype, I know) and he buys stock (which I wish I could afford to do right now). So far, so good.
"Your husband's name is Tim," he says, quite matter-of-factly, "And you KNOW what my wife's name is." Now that is a topic for another post. With all the confidence of a second-grader whose experiences in life have still left him believing in Happily Ever After, my son has decided that he WILL marry Natalee S. Not maybe, not probably, he WILL. When his brothers chant, "Matthew's got a giiirl-friend," he does not respond with the whining, kicking, or poorly-landed punches that were so hoped for by his tormentors. No, Matthew says, "Not yet! But she will be!" Yes, Matt, I know your wife's name.
So he's a doctor married to Natalee, and now they have a house and are being moved through Life in their lovely plastic orange minivan. And they make some good choices. Like learning sign language, planting trees, and my personal fav--winning the Nobel Peace Prize. All in a hard day's work. It's not all good, though. Like I'm not so sure I approve of the $100,000 in plastic surgery, but hey, nobody's perfect unless they pay for it.
I'm still having my private giggle, but as trite as it sounds, it really is life in miniature. I'm going to have to sit here helplessly and watch my children spin the wheel and make choices, whether I like it or not. I'm already seeing it happen with my 20 -year-old.
I think I prefer the board game to real life, though. Much less pressure. Matt won, although at the end I realized he didn't have any pink and blue plastice kids in his minivan. Now what fun is Life without grandchildren?
