games with boys

 

 I play this game with Husband called Read My Mind or Else.

It goes something like this: I am feeling a certain emotion or thinking a particular thought. Man-spouse has to guess the thought and act accordingly. If he does not guess the thought, he loses. If he guesses the thought but doesn't act accordingly, he loses. If he guesses the thought and acts accordingly but it's not done in a timely manner, he loses. If he loses, I get to pout for anywhere from 10 minutes to 24 hours, depending on the importance of the emotion/thought he was unable to guess and act upon in a timely fashion. Simple enough, right!?

Needless to say, it's one of our favorite games*.

Unfortunately Clint is not the only boy I have played this game with. Poor fellas. But is it really so much to ask for someone to just read your mind a little bit? I mean, it's not like I was asking total randos to read my mind! It was always someone I was dating or especially great dating-kinda friends with. So, really, shouldn't the reading of the mind thing kind of come with the territory* (except they should never have expected me to read theirs because--come on-- who ever knows what the male half is thinking, really?).

For example, when I tell boy, "I am going on a very long far-away trip in 3 months and there's no way of stopping me," he should probably infer, "There are 3 months to stop me from going on a very long far-away trip. Bring it on!" Or if maybe I said, "Check, please. I'll pay for dinner with my gift card" that probably meant "If it weren't 20 degrees outside, I would walk home right now. And maybe I still will. Yes, I'm that ticked off right now." Or when I say "Yeah, actually I've always had a fear of commitment. Did I ever tell you that?" he should read as, "Oh wait, that was you. Now you can watch me be super-happy without you." Or if I say, "Well, I'm pretty sure I won't be the most beautiful woman ever in a wedding dress" what I really mean is "This is a very awkward subject for a first date. Please stop talking now." And if I'd hypothetically answered "Um. Okay" when boy hypothetically asked if he could put his arm around me, it hypothetically should have been read as, "This is only okay if you are not currently making plans to get engaged to another girl who will soon be graduating from high school." Hypothetically.

If you must know, Clint is not perfect at this game. And if he were, I would find other ways to get that pout-time in. Because that's my prerogative as Woman of the House. But he is pretty darn good at it these days. Clint has always been the best at it. That's how he won*, and now we're married (What a lucky guy!)

But seriously, I started thinking about this whole thing a couple of weeks ago. Our fishies had just died. Clint had to go to the study hole to get important things done, and I laid my little depressed self on our bed in our dark room in the fetal position and cried a little. Then I started playing the game. Except it was way less fair than usual, because Clint was in another room, and the only things I said were in my mind. Yep. In my mind I said, "If this is true love Clint will hear this. Clint come in here. I need you. ClintClintClintClintClintClintClint..."

And you know what? He came! TRUE LOVE!

For the record, I am so glad that little experiment worked, but I would not recommend it to other couples as a test of true love. Just in case you were thinking about it.

(*) These are remarks that should not be taken at face value. Kthanksbye.