Games We Play

Husband and I are playing an on-going game. The game doesn’t really have a name, although I suppose it could be called “my wife hides everything I need,” “grown-up hide and seek,” or simply “cleaning up.” The beauty of the game is that Husband doesn’t seem to be aware he’s playing, and the genius of the game is that it’s engineered so I always win. Here’s how you play: 1) Clean the house. Take things that are not in their proper locations (on the floor, on a chair, etc) and put them in their rightful spot. 2) Then, pretend not to notice (hee hee) as your spouse hunts around the house for the item that he/she needs. All the while, the item is “hidden” in its true spot! (He never thinks to look there.) Here are some sample dialogues to use while playing the game. Notice that Husband’s part usually starts with “Where is….?” or a declaration like “my [missing item] has grown legs!” Husband: “Where is my belt?” Me: “In your closet.” Husband: “My glasses have grown legs!” Me: “They’re in your glasses case.” Husband: “Where is my glass of soda?” Me: “In the fridge.” Husband: “My favorite pants have grown legs!” Me: “They’re hanging in your closet.” We are in at least the hundredth round of the game. And, if no one says anything about this to Husband, the game could go on for months - or maybe even years! Think of the endless hours of entertainment. But, there is one downside. Though I’m the winner, by default, the only prize I’ve ever gotten was another opportunity to clean the house. On second thought, maybe we need to rethink this game.