The Game of Life

It's not much by historical standards, but it's a personal best for me, a noteworthy accomplishment in a day filled with grading papers, prepping lessons, taking care of the dogs, and pledging yet again to support the alumni fund for one of the many colleges/universities associated with my life.

When my work is finished, I play, usually by picking up one of the books in progress, crawling into my recliner, and vegging for a bit. Today, however, I accepted the gauntlet thrown by my computer about 2 years ago: to win 2 consecutive games of Spider Solitaire, level 2.

Every time I've accrued a total of 100 games, with a personal best of 20% success, I've hit the reset button and started anew, realizing as I do that I only win about 1 of every 5-6 games, not a stellar performance by anyone's standards. Once I've wasted 100 games' worth of time, often falling to about 17% success, it becomes apparent that my winning percentage will only decline, but starting over provides me with the opportunity to reach that plateau again. I shudder to think of how many times I've hit the reset button at 100 games, but I'd venture to say I've probably played a thousand games (at least). Someday, perhaps, I'll want that time back, but while I've been engaged on the quest, it's seemed like a relatively good mental acuity challenge, engagement that is desperately sought by senior citizens who fear losing said acuity.

Today, I did it: 2 consecutive wins for the first, and probably only, time since I began playing this wretched game. Now, it's decision time: do I continue to play, assuming that I can repeat this stupendous feat, or do I count my blessings and delete the damned game from my computer options? Part of me wants to try again, but the majority of me knows the frustration of futility and says, "hit the bye-bye button!"

We shall see what tomorrow brings, as I'll bask in the glory of accomplishment until then. After all, there is another, much more difficult, level 3 awaiting me.