GUESS WHO?

Finally.  February is over. 

The joy of ripping the month of February off my desk calendar was nothing short of bliss: I can clearly see NO SCHOOL written in thick black Sharpie on the March 2 square and spring break on the horizon.  February is a looooong month for teachers and this year we trod through an extra day of it.  

And yet the weekend whizzes by just as quickly as any other weekend when one has Monday off. I spent my Sunday getting my ass kicked by my great-niece in Guess Who? and listening to Do You Wanna Build a Snowman, both in English and Spanish, while sharing a Mediterranean feast from The Orchid Cafe with my niece and nephew and spouses. 

It was a perfect Sunday.

I had not played Guess Who? in years.  The characters look different from when my kids were little.  I remember the faded cards at Nana's house, smooth and cracked from decades of use.  But the questions were the same.  Does your person wear a hat?  Is your guy bald? Does your person wear glasses?

And I kept losing.  

I didn't have my glasses with me, so I had to hold the cards up to the light fixture and seek clarification.  "I can't tell.  Does that dude have a mustache or is that a shadow? Is that a bun in her hair?  I can't tell."  Yes, playing Guess Who?, Hasbro's timeless classic for ages 6 and up was a challenge for this old bag. How pathetic can I be?

Rosemary offered for my niece to be on Aunt Jenn's team for a while.  No surprise that she opted to stick with Ro Ro.  Who could blame her?  Keep winning with Ro or switch sides and play with the lady who can't see?

Then my competitive side emerged.  I thought, "I have to take at least one game off of her.  This is ridiculous."  But then my mind wandered a bit.  I started critiquing the characters, noting how cute Ashely's green beret was.  I wonder if I could pull that look off.  And David's beard is completely outdated.  Emily looks like the librarian at the Beverly Branch.  What's up with the unibrow on James?

And then, while lost in my fascination over these characters, and the people who design them, Lena asks, "Is your person Rylee?" 

Arrrgh. Foiled again!

I had much more success reading books.  After all, I had the most precious, appreciative audience one could ask for.  It took the sting out of all that losing.