The Old Maid.....And The Young Boy

Anyone who has ever played me in a game of Old Maid knows I always loose. I told my nanny friend Melissa this once and she didn't believe me.....at first. We frequently took our group of charges down to the coffee house on the corner where we all indulged in delicious treats over games and card playing. Time after time I lost at Old Maid. She soon believed me and succumbed to my claim of perpetual bad luck.

I remember loosing at the game since I was a child. I guess I should have seen it coming. Perhaps the Old Maid cards are more like Tarot cards for me.

Flash forward to today. I was with my favorite boys, David and Chris, looking for some games to play together. First was Crazy Eights, which Chris won. Then came Old Maid. "Oh, no, the game I always loose!" I cried. David laughed and asked why I always loose Old Maid. I didn't want to tell him that I believe I'm cursed, so I told him I didn't know, just luck I guessed.

So we sat down to play. David announced, after I dealt the cards, that he just got some bad luck. Clearly letting us all know who had the Old Maid card. But that's what its like to play cards with children. Chris didn't hold back either; laying all his cards on the table face up to search for his pairs. Surprisingly, David seemed happy to have the Old Maid card.

We played the game. Me picking from David's hand. He held onto that Old Maid. Keeping it in the same place, right in front of his stack. Closest to him and furthest from me. I could see him doing this so I asked him to fan them out...then to shuffle them. But I could tell he wanted to hold on to that card.

Chris won, again, and then it was down to David and me. And I couldn't believe it, but I didn't loose. I was not the Old Maid. I didn't want David to feel bad so I quickly teased him that he was an old lady. He laughed and said "Yeah, but at least you didn't loose! I turned your luck from (shows thumbs down) to (shows thumbs up)." I thanked him and gave him a big hug.

Maybe I was always the Old Maid because I didn't want anyone else to feel sad about loosing or being the Old Maid. I chose it out of their hands so I could see the relief in their eyes when they knew they were saved from being the Old Maid. And now David did it for me, just so I wouldn't be the looser, and would perhaps get my luck turned around.