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I was maybe eight or nine.  Mommy and I were playing Scrabble.  And she was clobbering me, her scores outmatching mine.  At that young age, I wondered why she would not let me win a match even just once.

Now I know why.

Mommy’s refusal to let me win showed how she believed in her daughter’s ability to go toe to toe with her.  It also showed her refusal to stroke my ego by letting me win albeit untruthfully.

Mommy taught me how to lose.  And in doing so, she taught me how to accept defeat with grace.  But she did more than that.  In teaching me how to lose at such a young age, she armed me with valuable lessons and truths about life that helped me get to where I am now.

For instance, she taught me that life is not always about winning.  In as much as our game of Scrabble was more about having fun during the game, life is also more about having fun while living.

Mommy taught me that I cannot expect people, even those whom I  love to always go easy on and be gentle with me.  Once in a while, people will knowingly or unknowingly hurt me and I must forgive them for that.

She taught me that in life, I get to face bigger foes and many difficult challenges, but tackling them head on is better that backing down and not learning anything at all.

That losing does not mean the end.  Life goes on.  And so we must too.

That perseverance will take me to where my defeated self cannot go.  I can definitely do better and get it right the next time (I won my first match against Mommy when I was about ten).

More than anything, my game of Scrabble with my mommy has taught me that love can get tough, but it’s love just the same.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy!  🙂