Pictionary

Backstory: (Note: As you read this post, remember we love each other more than can be undone by any furry creature of the forest.)

Krista and I are somewhat competitive when it comes to just about everything. We used to see who could push the other person into parked cars, light poles, and other objects, all in the name of sport. We kept tally, usually measured by who last succeeded in carrying out the dastardly deed. (We were certain that we were the subject of other people's Sunday School lessons..."I saw some guy push a girl into a parked car...I don't think it's ever appropriate to treat women like that!")

Games are always competitive and can become heated. It's usually a good sort of competition until we are fighting to help each other win at the same time. A classic example of this is Pictionary (which we no longer play together). During one game, Krista drew a couple of circles and a couple of lines and became excitable when I could not tell what the figure was. "Shapes!" I yelled. "Swirly pogo bounce staff thingies," a likely guess. She stopped "drawing" and kept tapping the paper with her pencil as though the drawing were obvious and I just didn't see it. "Donuts around toothpicks?" The pencil pounding increased.

When time ran out, she exclaimed (as though it were a photograph) "It's a SQUIRREL!" Competition gave way to sheer frustration. Two circles + two lines = one squirrel? Oye!

While the squirrel story has been re-told many times over the years, our days of playing Pictionary died with the squirrel. That was the last time we played Pictionary*.

Story: Caleb and Krista were making use of Caleb's Aquadoodle and Krista tried to get Caleb to practice his letters. She drew a "C" for "Caleb" and asked him what it was and continued on with other letters. She suggested he try drawing his own letters too. A couple of scribbles into it, he says, "What this is, mom?" "A?" came the reply. "No..." "B?" "No," he said, "it's my bed."

I said, "sounds like he plays Pictionary like his mom," to which Krista replied (very sarcastically, yet slightly lovingly), "shut uuuup."

Krista then drew (I'm laughing while typing this) a picture she thought Caleb would like, but he wanted a bus. "Draw a bus, mom." "It is a bus," she solemnly stated.

I broke out in laughter and tears. "I rest my case."

*We have played Pictionary a single time since then, against my better judgement. It was with Kip and Bridget. Remind me, who won that game?