Cards and Kids

Craigley and I went on just one "date" and had a 3 month long long distance "courtship"‎, and then, got married! Would not recommend it to anyone if I hadn't known Craigley as a classmate and a friend for about 2 years prior to that! Why am I mentioning it now? Well, I have been thinking about what Craigley said before we got married...he said something to the effect of men don't grow up - men are just big kids! I didn't realize that it would be an excuse he would use for the rest of our married life!!

Disclaimer: Craigley'‎s claims are his and his alone, and definitely do not apply to the rest of mankind. I have a mere readership of 4 individuals whom I consider to be very near and dear to me. They all happen to be men. And of course, I am documenting Momley Moments for my 2 boys who will eventually grow up to be men. So, I am in no way endorsing Craigley's claims.

‎Moving along now...

Craigley started collecting Star Wars cards just before we got married and also actively participated (once a week) in games with other "big kids". At one point in time, I truly believed that Craigley loved his cards more than his legally wedded wife. We were in the States at that point in time. Once we moved back to Canada, Craigley had to put away his cards neatly in a box as there weren't as many avenues in Toronto to engage in Star Wars card games. Also, ASid was born and we got busy with new responsibilities.

When ASid was about 5 years old in 2006, he discovered cards for the first time. ASid got a Yu-Gi-Oh card in a McDonald's Happy Meal. A few more visits resulted in a small pile of cards. ASid has always been an avid reader. He read all the information on all of the cards and wondered what to do with them afterwards! This was around the same time that Craigley decided that ASid should work on advanced Mathematics in Kindergarten and ASid decided he wasn't really good in Math! It was a crazy time between father and son. So, it was decided that Craigley would teach ASid how to play the Yu-Gi-Oh strategy game and help the little guy learn Math. ASid literally learned to do mental Math (addition and subtraction) within a couple of weeks. He was working with big numbers as well. It was quite impressive.

What was equally impressive was how much money Craigley spent to buy more Yu-Gi-Oh cards to make decks that both of them could play with. All in the name of Mathematics! Both father and son went onto attend some tournaments and Yu-Gi-Oh was an obsession for a good couple of years. Then, peer pressure took over - ASid moved on to Pokémon cards. Even Craigley realized quickly that we just couldn't afford to invest in another card game. Luckily, ASid was happy with a couple of tins of Pokémon cards.

Fast forward to 2015...

This is the year Craigley brought out the Star Wars cards he had neatly boxed away. ASid also brought out his Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Not to be left behind, Hans started his own collection of cards (obviously with some encouragement from his dad, the big kid) - Tim Horton's Hockey cards!

This is what I got to hear in the last few weeks:

Hans: It is not fair that ASid gets to spend his money (allowance) on buying cards he wants!

ASid: ‎It is not fair that Dad can buy as many cards as he wants as he is literally minting money!

Craigley: It is not fair that Tim Horton's only lets you buy one discounted pack of cards per medium coffee‎!

‎Cards and Kids!! The saga continues...