Battle for the Benches

Since First is off beginning his own life, and busy 24 hours a day, we have had to adjust to just 5 most days. First isn't able to come home every weekend due to commitments with the business. So we miss him, but a dilemma has occurred. With First gone the balance of the benches is gone. Here is the table, and in this house it is also the school room. As you can see the table is painted with each place each one of us was born. So each kid sat next to their birth place. With 2 kids on one bench and one of the other, disagreements occurred. So being the mom I am I opened the bench in a competition on Sunday when we play a family game. The winner of the game gets the bench for the following week, for meals, for dinner, for whatever.

Second won 3 weeks running. The other 2 were slightly angry but amicable. Then FoUrTh won for 2 weeks running, and Third was really ready to win. So last night we played Ninety-nine. It is a fast paced counting game, that each player has 3 pieces. Lose all the pieces you are out. Third won!! Yay!! So the competition has been rough, but a challenge to win a bench to oneself has wonderful advantages. School all alone on one side, no one to short-stop the food at dinner and so on.

So another window in a long about way as to why I think passing on awards is a good thing. It is rewarding to accomplish something. Sure some awards are cheesy, but cheesy or not blogging is not easy, and to keep ones privacy, while sharing oneself is difficult.

So for this week Third will reign on the lone bench. I will smile and slightly miss my sweetie, my first born and his jovial ways at the table, all the while looking forward to next weeks competition!