Saturday night was game night at our house. And the game picked to play was “Monopoly”. It began simple enough, with a quick run for chinese take out, organizing of game pieces and a little back ground music playing on the c.d. player.

The table was set and we all took our seats. Little “Z” sat opposite of me, Stac was to my left and David was to my right. ”Mom” was the ”banker”. Mom’s always the banker. I think it has to do with something about cheating, along with her knack of counting money. At any rate, she also always manages to win. So the kids and I were set. We had a plan. And her winning streak was gonna end.

The dice was rolled, money was exchanged, deals were made and property was bought. But her strategy was working and one by one we began to drop out of the game! I went first….giving what I had left to Nicole and David, hoping it would boost their ability to win. Nicole gave up a good fight but, even with her best pouting face, mom refused to accept $100.00 for the $950.00 rent she owed for landing on one of her properties with a hotel on it. So our hopes in beating the “banker” ….lay in David.

Two hours later…..Nicole had went to bed, I had made more than one trip to the frig for a snack and little David was still determined to win. It had been a close game. I watched him hold his breath with every roll of the dice, just praying to make it around the board! Alas! It was getting late….and as the “banker” looked into the droopy eyes of her son, she decided to throw the final blow…….”No, it’s past bedtime, pay up!”

He begged, as she counted his money. He pleaded for just a little more time, as she put his remaining properties in mortgage. He sat quietly, as he watched us pack up the game board and it’s pieces. We got up and put the game away and turned off the light. I told David to go to bed and I’d be in in a minute to say prayers. Stac went into our room and I went to check on “Z”. When I came back David was still at the kitchen table.

He was just sitting there. His eyes fixed. I could tell by the expression on his face, he wasn’t just trying to stay up late. So as I walked over I said, “Hey, what’s up?” He turned to look at me with a very serious expression on his face…..he said, “One more game.” “I can beat her, I just want one more game!” His voice was breaking when he said it. His eyes were showing the effort he was having trying to hold back the tears. He had come close and he knew it.

I smiled. Walked over to my boy, put my hands on either side of his head, looked him in the eyes and said, “I love your attitude!”

Defeat was not something he took lightly. The will to fight, although he’s young, is strong in my son. And after a brief talk about how losing is a part of learning to win and winning well, we resigned to go to bed….only for him to declare that he’d beat her tomorrow!

I’ve heard it said, “The average American Male today is dead at 25 and buried at 65″. I don’t know who originally said it. It has been attributed to Ben Franklin, although I’m not sure. What I do know is I have thought about that statement a lot. First, with my own life and second with my son. What about this life takes the “life” out of our young? What steals their dreams to turn them into the walking ”dead” by age 25, only to wander for 40 years on this earth before they are actually buried?  I know the answer probably varies from person to person. I know I fight each day NOT to become one. And I pray my son never finds out.