The game of LIFE

I have a box of games in the garage that I used in my 4th and 5th grade classrooms. I have set them aside for the time when Evan and I can play them. I decided tonight just might be the night to bring LIFE out of the box and give it a whirl. I know it says, "Age 9 and up," but I thought he would love it and he did.

LIFE... you know the one, you spin the colorful wheel, you either take the college route or you don't. You get paid every time you cross pay day, you buy insurance, you buy stock, you get married, you lose your stock, you have kids, you pay for their education, etc. I loved this game as a kid, but as I write this it reminds me how much work LIFE really is. Insurance and all that really isn't so much fun as was when we were kids.

So, tonight Evan had to decide if he wanted to go to college, which would get him a better paying job, but it would take longer, OR he could get a job right away but he would not make as much as I will...OK, he got the point, GO TO COLLEGE.

After that, he landed on the spot that said, "Congratulations! You're getting married." I read it to him and he said, "You're joking. It's just pretend, right?" He really wasn't sure. He had a VERY serious look on his face. I told him it was just a game and he let out a sigh of relief. I told him to pick a pink peg and name her. At first he named her, 'Rhonda,' but I told him once again that you can't marry your Mom, ...so he picked the name, "Mrs. Rike," and then he put her peg in the backseat of his car.

Later on I got married, and Evan asked me if I had picked Daddy to be my husband and I told him that yes, the blue beg was Mark. He was happy about that. Then I had a boy, named Evan and then another boy. Evan and Mrs. Rike had a boy too and Evan named him Pierce.

The game was fun. He had the attention span to last the whole hour plus, loved the money, and really got into buying stock. He said he wanted to play again sometime and I told him that we would. While I was fixing dinner he said he wanted to play it is own way since we were done. He filled his car with pink and blue pegs. Mrs. Rike and Mom up front, Pierce and Evan in the back. Just like always. I guess he really is too young to marry off just yet, but at least he picked a good woman!