Checkers

Grayson came over to play yesterday. These two have grown up together, but don't get much just plain playtime these days. Busy little guys with kindergarten and all.

They decided to play checkers, which Grayson had reportedly never played.

At first, it seemed that Garrett was quite excited to play a game with someone with less strategy than himself. (He usually is matched with Madeline or Joel, and gets wiped out pretty quick.) But I reminded him that the nice thing to do would be to help Grayson actually learn how to play the game instead of gobbling up all of his pieces.

Garrett's compassionate side quickly came out (I could just see the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other) and I overheard many sentences that started with the phrase, "Here's a safe place for you to move!" Or, "It's not about winning! It's just about having fun!" As much as I'd love to tell you that these sentiments were straight from the heart, I was giggling because they were obviously rehearsed over and over by parents to children and coming out during a playdate. Too funny. As the game moved on it got a little more complicated. "You guys," I said, "It's ok if some of your guys get jumped! That's how the game works!" They weren't sure, but somehow kept it civil to the end. It was hilarious to listen to each of them play both sides. They were both very concerned with keeping the other safe.

Oh, and if you are wondering, yes, Garrett does often strip down to his underwear and socks when he gets home from kindergarten. Often.