A-NOT-So-Perfect-Wedding

It was a dark evening back in November, and I looked at the clock thinking it had to be close to my kids' bedtime. Not that they were trying my patience, but we had eaten dinner, had dessert, watched 3 episodes of Heidi on Netflix... And I was getting restless. But the clock said it was only 6:30 pm - um, what?! For real?!

Okay, we needed a plan to fill the next hour with something other than eating or watching more TV, but what? So I headed to the games shelf in the upstairs closet to find our Chess board. I figured since Emersyn has played Candyland several times and really understands how to play, and she can sit and pay attention that long, maybe I could teach her Checkers? I had the checkers, but I couldn't find the board. The Chess board was not on the game shelf either. So I started looking all over the house - my room, Kyle's study, the garage... Nothing...

Well, actually there was SOMETHING. But it wasn't Chess.

I grinned big time as I picked up a game I hadn't played in a very long time. It was a game that my friend, Jessica, and I had created 10 years ago, not that I remembered how long ago if it had been dependent upon my own memory. There was an inscription on the inside of the lid!


We were roommates for 5 years, and when we had to split up in order to marry our now-husbands (which was a blessing, of course, but sad to no longer have each other's closets to raid or minds to pick on-the-spot), somehow I got this game in the roomie-divorce :)

We got the idea of creating this from a similar game we had played in college. It had been a gift to one of our college friends when she was a child in the 80s and 90s. After college, Jessica and I figured  that in order to play this game again, we would have to build it ourselves. My schoolteacher mom had a blank gameboard we could have. So we headed to my parents' house, and on the way we stopped at Walmart and bought a few bridal magazines and poster board.

After 8 hours of planning, cutting, gluing, and writing, we had "A Not-So-Perfect Wedding" game. A cross between MASH (ya know the notebook paper game from your school days) and Monopoly.  As you go around the board, you collect things for your wedding day - things like a venue, musicians, food, dress, bridesmaid dresses, flowers, the ring, and even the groom is up for a roll of the dice!  When you land on an item, you roll to see how much money you have to spend.  So, if you roll a 4, you have $400 to spend.  Each picture card in each item category is labeled with a price tag.  The first person to collect a card from every category wins!

When I saw the game in the garage, warm fuzzies filled my heart.  It had been so long since I had even opened the game box, so I thought maybe it was time to introduce my daughter to this!


My daughter was then only about to turn 4-years-old, so I wasn't sure she would want to play.  But once we got all the pictures and cards out, and I explained how to play - she was very excited!  Perhaps as she is entering into the "when I grow up and get married" dream phase, this game wasn't the healthiest choice.  Maybe it feeds something that isn't healthy... I'm not really sure.  But I will admit that I felt childlike, myself, and even though I had a real wedding 6 1/2 years ago, the idea of weddings still makes me quite giddy!

We had a great time, and she was ahead the entire game!  I kept drawing unfortunate "Fate" cards, such as being dumped at the alter by my groom and not being able to collect any more items until I had a new groom!  Well, she kept getting cards that said things like, "Your name was chosen from a raffle at the bakery - any cake is yours for free!"

Of course, the child would win the game that the mother created!  Ridiculous!

And the winner was Emersyn!!! And yes, her groom was George Clooney, but in this game his real name is "Dierk"

She actually didn't win because she had collected an item from all the categories... she just happened to get tired of playing when she had more items than I did!  How convenient!

Ya know what, though?  My eyes got a little teary-eyed while we played, when I had the thought that some day we will be standing in shops, venues, etc... planning the real day my daughter is a bride.  My prayers have been and will continue to be that she marries a man who loves Christ and realizes what a gift she is.  A good reminder that she is also a gift for me, one I will not be able to spend time with every day for very long.  This child is an incredible gift on loan to me for an amount of time yet to be known... I pray I will treasure all these days in my heart.