Happy New Year!
I had a fantastic New Year’s Eve.
Which was nice, because 2018 was an obnoxiously rough year.
We always play LCR on New Year’s. It is a blast. It is a dice game and an unlimited number of people can play. Everyone begins the game with 3 chips or quarters, or dollar bills. Whatever you want.
We use one dollar bills. So everyone around the table begins the game with three $1 bills in front of them.
To win the game, be the last person with a dollar in front of you.
Selfie!
The dice are passed around the table and everyone takes a turn rolling.
The dice will either display an L, R, C or a dot. If you roll an L you give one of your dollars to the person on your left. Roll an R and you give a dollar to the person on your right. A C means you put a dollar into the center of the table. Roll dots and you keep your dollars.
The last person with a dollar in front of them wins the game (and the pot of in the center of the table).
We played with 15 people so the pot was $45.
I have been playing LRC with family and friends for over a decade and I have NEVER WON.
Last night I was the last gal standing with $2 still in front of me.
Even though it looked promising, I still had the dreadful “last roll” to contend with.
When there is one person left, they don’t just claim the prize and thank all their friends for the donation. They must roll dots to keep their money and win the game.
It is possible (and fairly common ) that the last roll for the win to be an L, R, or C (instead of dots)- which keeps the dollars moving and the game going. Just when you think the game is over and head for a bathroom break, someone passes you a dollar and you are back in the game.
I was the last one with any money on the table. I had $2 and there was an unfortunate chance that I could send the last dollars to the players on my right or left.
Much to everyone’s surprise (especially me) I rolled 2 dots in the final roll and joyfully excepted my 45 bucks. I was thrilled. Everyone told me to buy a lottery ticket on the way home.
I am taking this as a sign that 2019 is going to be a year to remember.
It is a huge relief and pleasure to call 2018 done and move forward. It was stressful, depressing and downright hard. It was one of those humbling years and I spent most of it wishing it would go away.
Which reminds me of one of my daughter’s teachers for some reason.
His name was Mr. Mickey. He was a character and I adored him. He was her freshman English teacher at a little part-time cottage school.
Mr. Mickey knew every word to any Lady Gaga song and never missed “Morning Movement Time.” Morning Movement Time was a 15-minute mid-morning break that took place outdoors. I really have no idea.
Mr. Mickey was firmly against locking teenagers in classrooms and felt fresh air and motion were important to learning. It didn’t matter it if was 22 degrees outside or raining – he would haul his unwilling group of miserable students outdoors for stretching and calisthenics whether they liked it or not.
I’m not sure if these are qualities that you want in a teacher, but Mr. Mickey continued to surprise everyone with his oddities and this quirkiness. The more I learned about his unusual approaches to learning the more I liked him.
It was the end of the year, before Christmas break and the kids were celebrating with silly games and junk food.
As they ate their rice crispy treats and counted down the minutes to the final bell, they asked him,
“Mr. Mickey, Who’s your favorite?”
They knew that most teachers had a teacher’s pet and they all wanted to be the lucky winner.
Mr. Mickey surveyed the classroom and examined each face peering hopefully at him. He had the entire room’s attention as he decided who the favorite student would be.
He finished his calculations and happily announced, “I hate all of you equally.”
This is my kind of teacher.
This is how I feel about pretty much every day in 2018 – I hated them all equally.
Good riddance 2018 – see you never.
DH and I hung in there and survived mostly unscathed. We took a financial hit. We survived a reconstructed shoulder. We fought with all sorts of medical institutions. And we didn’t die.
I have decided that 2019 is going to be sensational.
I have so much I want to do-
- I want to spend more time with people and less time with electronics.
- I want to grow as a writer and communicator.
- I want to take time every day and spend it with DH and the kids. Life is so busy with cooking, cleaning, working, school work and everything else – I want to be intentional about being still with them.
- I want to sit more.
- I want to play more games, cards and do more puzzles.
- I want to laugh more.
- I want to have more people over to the farm, host more tours, and open our homestead more often for others to enjoy.
- I want to care less about what other people say (when you start a blog you get lots of feedback- ahem – and, contrary to why you may think, people are not nice).
- I want to grow in my faith, learn, and give completely to what God has for me.
What do you have planned for 2019?
Cheers! Happy New Year Everyone!
XO,
Candi
PS: If you’ve never played LCR – you should. They sell the game at any big store (like Target or Walmart). It’s fun, even if you don’t win.
