You Can't Be a Sore Loser if You Never Lose!

This week, Jay and I are at a work conference, where we gather twice a year with colleagues from throughout Arkansas and Oklahoma for the purposes of instruction, fellowship, and encouragement.  Last night, as part of our planned activities, we left the beautiful camp/conference center where we’re staying and traveled to Tulsa to eat at Dave & Busters (a Chuck-E-Cheese type restaurant for grown folks, in case you’re unfamiliar) and participate in a “team-building activity,” which basically consisted of running around the midway in a scavenger hunt, playing games and answering questions – it was, by the way, awesome.

Winning!

The 80 or so of us enjoyed dinner together, then were assigned referees to separate us into 10 teams.  Jay and I were placed on separate teams.  This was good for the other players (with our powers combined, we would have, of course, annihilated you), but was perhaps not so good for our marriage, as evidenced by the fact that before the word “go” was uttered, Jay and I were already throwing down some pretty impressive trash talk. 

We can be pretty competitive. 

I don’t think that I’m necessarily competitive with people in life.  Though now that I’m trying to think of specific examples to prove the previous sentence is true, I’m starting to not feel so good about myself.  So, in order to avoid opening up that can of worms, I’m moving on.



We'd be better at losing if we were more used to it! 



We are game-players in our family, and not to brag, but we’re pretty good (What?!?  You wanna go?  I’ll take you in Scattergories right now!).  After Micah recently had the mother of all meltdowns after losing at a game of Candyland, we convinced his very well meaning Nanny and Pop that they have to stop letting him win every game they play with him.  We did this for two reasons – 1) No one wants their kid to be the one who stomps away crying when he’s out in dodgeball and 2) We hate to lose as much as Micah!  Let him win?  No fair!



No game throwing allowed!



We have a family game night record book, and chances are, if you’ve enjoyed some lite Balderdash or Yahtzee at Spalding manor, your name is in the book (as losers?). As a family, we can often be found having some sort of game tournament.  We all have our strengths – Jay is killer at Operation.  I dominate Mancala.  Micah is a beast at Monopoly Crazy Cash. We are guilty of talking a little smack, but in the end, we congratulate each other on a job well done – well, in front of Micah, then Jay and I continue said trash talking for the rest of the night.



We started him young!



This summer, while on a camping vacation, we created a trophy and held the first annual Spalding Decathlon.  Jay is the reigning champ, but Micah and I are already plotting our revenge for next summer.

Yes, we enjoy a little rivalry here and there, but don’t worry.  The hubby and I put our spirited nature to good use.  When there is a task at work that neither of us wants to do, we usually settle it by engaging in a friendly, albeit cut-throat competition.  A game of darts?  Paper, Rock, Scissors?  Words with Friends?  A little break for some fun and then the loser (ahem… Jay) will tackle the task at hand.

So, in case you’re dying to know.  Jay’s team took the victory at the team building exercise, but only because they totally cheated, and who really cares about winning a stupid Dave & Busters glass anyway?

In all honesty, I do love that we still like to have fun with each other, and I’m mostly never, only sometimes, on occasion, most of the time, always a sore loser. 

Luckily he always agrees to a rematch.