The Sincerest Form?

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”

That’s what they say at least. I am a very intensely competitive person. I can turn anything into a competition. I am not a sore loser but WHILE I am losing……well, that’s a different story. Man, I get ticked.

It doesn’t matter if I am competing against a person or a stupid game console that cheats so that you CAN’T win. Admittedly, sometimes I may get a bit…..um……emotional when I play Mario Kart. From time to time I have been known to yell “ARE YOU KIDDING ME????” while playing. From time to time I have been so mad that nothing but grunts and screams come out. From time to time I may have thrown a controller into the pillows on the couch. I try not to act like that in front of the girls but sometimes……..sometimes I just can’t help it. When I get mad, Hannah looks at me like I am nuts. She doesn’t really play video games so she doesn’t get it. Hailey? Um….well, Hailey is another story.

A few weeks ago I was sitting in the kitchen while she was playing Mario Kart in the living room. All of a sudden she screams “ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? ARRRGGHH.”

I told Hailey to calm down. As soon as I said it I sensed Staci staring at me.

“You don’t calm down” she says.

“Yeah, but I uh…..hmmmm.” I say.

Checkmate. She has me. Nothing I can say. In fact, as I watch Hailey she is a mini me. She was getting so mad.

So today she came downstairs while I was playing “Need For Speed”. If you aren’t familiar with the game, it’s a driving game but you can run from the cops. I am not worried about their perception of the police for obvious reasons. The cops in the game are very aggressive. They ram you, box you in and get you stopped. It is frustrating when they box you in because you can’t go anywhere. Hailey asked if she could play. “Sure” I said as I ran up to get my camera. I knew what was coming.

Sure enough she melted down. There was screaming and crying and yelling. I was laughing and Hannah said that she was scared because Hailey was crazy. Staci said “She gets so mad when she plays. I wonder where she gets that from.” as she stared at me.

Staci says she is going to build me and Hailey a rubber room to play our games in so we don’t hurt ourselves. Hailey is definitely the more competitive of the girls.

I need to remember this. Peace and love. That’s how I am playing my games from now on. Peace and love.

Until the stupid game console cheats so I CAN’T win. When that happens, you don’t want to be sitting on the couch.