Growing Versions

We bought a fairly underused game of Clue yesterday at a flea market. I had a version when I was a kid and I remember playing it.  I must have known the rules then. Now the rules are laid out in a glossy pamphlet and I, as logically laid out as they are, cannot for the life of me figure out how to start the game or conduct it. I am once again scratching my head against the ticking clock of my kids' impatience. Finally, my son takes over and invents some rules. He explains them and adapts them as we go. I get killed in the game multiple times. Depending on the cards you draw, you are "allowed" to murder in certain rooms with certain weapons. After many convoluted rounds, I finally concede defeat and go to bed. I figured that that would be the end of it, but when I woke up in the morning, both kids were fully involved in a game of Clues.  I cannot say it was Clue, but Clues has been launched and a Clues tournaments cannot be far off. No one will get out alive. ...

My son pledged with his friend this weekend to visit every playground they saw.  His friend made an important addition to this pledge, to visit every unseen one too.

I am often humbled by others' words.  I will hear my children express something so perfectly and uniquely that I rush to another room to write it down.  I read a passage in a book that succinctly describes something in a way that I've not read before and I ensure that I can return to it, time and again to be inspired, I started to make an effort to write for pleasure over the past few years. It wasn`t something I had done for fun since childhood.  It has indeed been a pleasure. Having writing to turn to has been like having a funnel to catch my gushing, tumbling thoughts, my awareness of language has become heightened and I enjoy reading more.  Writing more has helped both my physical and mental health too. I often walk home or to work composing something in my head. As much as writing has improved my life, the longer I write, the more aware I am of my limitations.  I admire good writers for their ability to compel the reader to understand another point...