Lessons from Laser Tag

Dena says I'm a cheater, but that's just because I beat her. We went out to play laser tag late last night, and it turned out that just we three girls (my step daughter Lydia, my sister-in-law Dena, and I) were interested in playing at that time of night—so we were pitted against each other. It was a blast.

Here are the few lessons I learned:

1. It pays to try new things. We were actually on our way to the movies when Lydia suggested we go play laser tag instead. I felt slightly intimidated by the idea, but figured that the worst that could happen is that I lose. Turns out I won; and even if I hadn't, it was way more fun than the movies.

2. The process is more important than the result. Honestly, I don't care about winning games; usually I prefer to lose so the other person won't feel bad. But when I play against competitive people, like Dena, I work up my competitive drive so that the process will be more enjoyable for them. The risk in trying hard, of course, is that you might win. It's a risk I'm willing to take.

3. Ignorance is bliss. Perhaps I was cheating, but I still don't know how. (Well, except for the time I grabbed Lydia's gun that she was blasting at me when I couldn't shoot back. But Dena didn't see that.) As far as I know, I was the sneakiest, fastest, best aimer of the entire group of people in that warehouse (out of all three of us ... for at least one of the three games) — and I don't want to know if that's not accurate.

4. Family rocks. I love Dena. I love Lydia. They're some of my favorite people to hang out with. And I know they'll always love me too, even if I wup them.