Humbled By a 5 Yr Old

Do you remember playing the game called Memory when you were a kid or have you played it recently with your own kids (I guess I am making an assumption here that you don't typically play Memory with your spouse or friends on game night)? When I say the Memory game, I am talking about the game where you lay the cards face down and then you take turns finding the matching cards. If you have'nt played it lately, you should go find a 5 year old and give it a whirl. I would be interested to know how it goes.

I have always prided myself with having a pretty good memory but I must be brain power because my 5 year daughter, Savana, can absolutely school me at Memory. Her favorite game is the "My Little Pony Memory Game" and for good reason. We have played the game many times and I have never beat her. I will qualify that by saying I let her beat me the first couple of times while she learned how to play. However, the third or fourth time we played, she beat me without any help. From there on out, I have been on a quest to prove to myself that I have the ability to beat a 5 yr old at the game of Memory. I have failed miserably! Talk about frustrating! Good Grief!

We start the game as everyone else does turning over random cards. Once we each get 3 or 4 turns each, on of us usually turns over a card that has been revealed previously. It is at this point when the game is usually over for me. As soon as she sees the second card she smiles and says "I know where that one is." I look at her in shock and then scowl because I have no idea where the match is and, frankly, I don't even remember the match being turned over previously. Sure enough, as soon as it is her turn, she gets the match.

From that point on, it seems that my role in the game is to turn over random cards so that she can giggle and then get the match. Aarrgg! It seems as though the only time I get a match is when she hurries too fast and turns over the card next to where the matching card is located. Of course as soon as she turns it over she realizes her mistake and points to the matching card and tells me that she meant to turn over the other card. Of course, I tell her "no way" and that it is my turn and I proceed to get the match. I know that sounds harsh but geez, I must retain some level of dignity. There are about 20 matching sets of cards and I consider it a moral victory if I can get 5 or 6 of the matches.

So, for those of you out there that can't beat a 5 yr old at the Memory game, you are not alone.