Murder...Texas Style

I consider myself a pretty nice person. I smile at people and remember birthdays. I enjoy writing a letter or sending a card to cheer someone up. I don't cut people off in traffic. I'm just an all around friendly person.

But, there are certain times when all that goodness flows right out of me. I turn into a vicious woman. I'll lie to your face and cut your throat at every turn if I can find a way. I won't care how close you are to your goal. I am solely focused on myself.

Yes, people...I have an extremely competitive nature when it comes to board games. More specifically the board game Murder. This is a board, card, and marble game all rolled into one. It is similar to Sorry! But a little different. The point is to get all your guys in your home before anyone else can get their guys into home.

I'm in a group of ladies that try to get together at least once a month for a rousing round of Murder. We got together Tuesday. There were two new gals joining us so we agreed to play easy. Who ever heard of playing easy? This is Murder people...not treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself. Anyway, I played that way for a little while. But deep down inside my inner player was screaming for me to forget the rules and play for blood.

If you knew me better, you'd realize that I have little to no will-power. So, I began to play dirty. I mean really dirty. Unfortunately, these new gals were sitting on each side of me. And since we played in partners they were my competition...a very sorry place for them to be, but nonetheless where they found themselves. Well, since they were new they kept asking me what they should do. What moves should they make. This is comparable to dangling fresh meat in front of a starving dog. What is a girl to do?

Well, first I bumped a few marbles back to the opposition's home. Then I began to tell them to play their cards to my advantage. Yes, I am ashamed. I've come here to confess and cleanse my soul. So...confession...I played really dirty. Ahhh, I do feel better!

Okay, so I'm really getting to my point. I can't really leave my wins and (very occasionally) losses at the game table. Where does this competitive nature come from? I'm an only child so I've never really had to compete for time, attention, or means. And while I usually consider myself a good sport, sometimes I do pout when I lose. But I think the most eye-opening thing about this game of Murder was the fact that a lady from the other team told the new lady "See I told you she was vicious." I jokingly laughed and commented that she shouldn't spread rumors. She claimed that it wasn't a rumor if it was true.

This kind of stopped me in my tracks. Perhaps I do take winning and losing to extremes. Where I've always considered myself a good sport, I've had to take stock and reevaluate myself. I have no answers right now. I'm sure this will be a long term thing. I think the real test will come next month at the next Murder night.