It’s a long weekend, so I spent a little more time on this update. It also took a little more time to write. I wanted to be thankful for something other than friends and family. I am, in the abstract, but in general they take up most of my life. I did lots of things this week, saw a lot of great friends, made some new ones, taught some kids some circus skills, and played probably more games than I should have. I spent Saturday night with the family I made, and Sunday dinner with the family I was born with, where I noticed the family game for the first time. We have our own family game, the Tigwells do. You might be familiar with it, it’s called “I’m Right.”
This isn’t a post about my family fighting. We don’t do that. I mean it. I’ve never seen anyone in my family fight, not among four generations. Arguments sure, but nothing that causes rifts or tension. I don’t really understand families who do, quite frankly. I think some of that has to do with I’m Right, and how we play it. The rules are pretty simple.
- Choose an issue.
- Find a way to be right. Bonus points if you’re right even when you’re wrong. More bonus points if that doesn’t involve any kind of leverage, like marriage.
- It doesn’t matter who else is right or wrong, as long as you’re right.
- Once the issue is resolved, choose another issue.
Sunday night I sat at a table with a dozen or so family members spanning three generations, and we all played the game. Even the ones who married into the family played it, because we all want someone who can play the game. As one of my family put it at Easter, “If you’re going to sit at this table, you have to be prepared to go ten rounds with anyone here.”
It sounds weird, but we like it that way. Everyone plays, and no one takes it that seriously. No feelings are hurt, because it’s just a game. if you’re wrong, and you can’t find a way to be right, you still move on to the next round, as it were. The whole night is full of banter, when we’re not catching up on what everyone’s been doing. I always leave there marveling at how alike we all are, despite the fact that I don’t see them often enough,
I assume other people’s families have games too, but I find that they’re less fun, and sometimes mean-spirited. Maybe it’s because I grew up playing I’m Right, but games like “Do It My Way” or “I Told You So” just seem like they make people unhappy, like playing Risk when you could be playing Ticket to Ride.
So that was my Thanksgiving. What game does your family play?
