"I Love This Game"

Almost every time I play D&D, I find myself saying "I love this game." Last night, I not only said it, but also shouted it, at least a handful of times. Of course, one of those times, we weren't even playing D&D anymore.

Yesterday, I stole my friend's debit card. Well, I borrowed it. Without his permission. Or knowledge. ANYHOW, I borrowed it, not so I could use it, but so he couldn't. He was planning on buying me lunch that day, so I took his card, and a swapped it with mine, so when he bought me lunch, he did so with my card, so I actually bought him lunch instead. I'd have bought him that pack of spell cards, too, but he insisted on using his own card once my subterfuge had been discovered. As we were discussing the trick I had played on him, I remarked that "I love this game," meaning, perhaps, the "game" that I had played on him.

Tonight, I said it again, but this time, I was comparing the prices of Oreos. I normally bring Oreos to D&D nights and bring the leftovers home. But it has come to my attention that I eat too much sweets, and I've decided to stop bringing so many leftover Oreos home every week. I knew that there were packs of sleeves of Oreos, so I did a good deal of comparison shopping, and I ultimately found an option that's viable, less unhealthy, and slightly cheaper than what I'm currently doing. In essence, I played a numbers game, and I said I loved that game.

Turns out, life is full of games. I play a form of Tetris every time I load the dishwasher. Taking quizzes is like a memory game. Essays are word games. Traveling is an exploration game. Sometimes, our pets get in each others' ways, and I play a game I call "herding cats." Life is full of challenges, but many of those challenges are basically puzzles, and puzzles are a kind of game. Life itself can be a game, if we choose to see it as one.

Personally, I would like to choose to have a positive attitude and see nearly everything as a game. A serious, important game, maybe, but still a fun game. A game I can win. A game I enjoy playing. A game that frequently causes me to grin and say "I love this game."