Looking back...

A couple of Sunday's ago, Quinton and I stopped by mom's after church. The entire kitchen was on the living room floor. My mother LOVES to cook and has acquired ridiculous amounts of cookware and spices. She decided to get a jump start on the spring cleaning (or late start depending on how you want to look at it). In the midst of the pots, pans, and non perishables was a stack of board games. Outburst, Sequence, Trivial Pursuit, etc., etc.. After a quick look at the pile something caught my eye. The name of the game is Risk, and I will tell you right now- you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I HATE IT! When my step-father was still living we would spend Christmas Eves playing this game. There are many different ways to play, but my step-brother always insisted on World Domination. This is way is fun until it gets to be 4 a.m. and Santa Clause can't put the presents under the tree because WE ARE STILL PLAYING THIS STUPID GAME!!!! The only way you could leave the table was if you had been defeated. Seriously folks...there was the occasional bathroom break, but ONLY if my step-brother had to go as well. He wouldn't even let us surrender until we occupied less than 5 territories.

I asked mom what she was going to do with those games, and she said they were headed to Goodwill. Quinton doesn't have cable TV so I told him to go through the games so we would actually have something to do instead of watching the same movies over and over. He picked three or four. Of course one of them was Risk. I told him that I refused to play it with him.

grrrrrrrrr

Wednesday after class I stopped by. We had already played every other game he took. I insisted on a good ol fashioned game of Gin Rummy, but he had already got Risk out. I explained the basics and told him that we were not going to stay up all night playing (at this point I think he still had no idea what he was getting into). When two people are playing there has to be a neutral force. The cards were passed out and the armies began to set up shop in their respective countries. After one army is placed in each of your territories, you strategically place the rest of your army, cavalry, and militia. Since the neutral can't place itself you take turns putting their armies where you want them.

Of course Quinton was done setting up in less than 5 minutes (amateur). After about 20 I was ready to go. He regretted his quick thinking as soon as I dominated Australia, Africa, and half of North America. However, greed got the best of me. I was spending too much time attacking and not enough reinforcing. I was plentiful in land but weak in numbers. After two hours he was ready for bed, but I was not! I was finally winning a game of Risk and there was no way I was letting him off that easy.

But as I looked in his eyes, my heart wen out to him. I saw a little blonde headed girl, exhausted from lack of food and afraid that Santa Clause was going to skip over her house. All she wanted to do was sleep. All she asked was that the game be finsihed in the morning. I then decided to do something my step-brother had not. I excused him from the table. I was not going to ruin this game for him like my step-brother did! I was not going to let him turn into the horrible monster I have become. Hopefully he now understands why I hate the game so much.....

and hopefully he wears his big boy pants next time because IT'S ON!!!!