Concentration

One of Ben's favorite activities these days is playing card games, especially Concentration. (I find it ironic that I've spent thousands of dollars on toys for this kid in the last almost-five-years, and a deck of cards turns out to be his favorite).

Anyway, almost every night now after I put Rebecca to bed Ben gets out his cards and asks to play. His favorite place to play cards is on the floor in our walk-in closet. So we sit on the floor in the closet and I spread out the cards while Ben begins a routine that goes something like this:

"Are you serious about winning today? Because I'm SERIOUS about winning. So I think you better be concentrating."

To which I assure him that I'm serious about winning, and then he proceeds to kick my ass at Concentration. Not only am I not trying to let him win, but he actually helps me out and then STILL wins. Last night he blew a match on his turn and I stopped him and said "What are you doing?" and he looked at me sheepishly and said, "I was saving that match for you, Mommy." He will also often tell me where a match is to the card I've just turned over.

Now, I used to think I had a pretty good memory and was pretty good at games like Concentration, so I am not sure if a) I now have swiss cheese for brains or b) Ben has an uncanny memory. He'll remember where a card is five turns later, after I've totally forgotten it was even turned over, much less where. When I ask him how he knows where the cards are he grins and shrugs and says, "I'm concentrating!"

I guess I just need to concentrate harder...