The game face.

I wear two game faces when I have to do something I really don’t enjoy doing. One is worn at work when I have to go into a difficult meeting; the other is at home when I have to deal with a situation that has occurred---of course no one will take credit for it, so that’s half the fun.

The trouble with wearing my game face with our kids is they know when it’s on; when one of them pushes, tattles, or leaves a mess they know when it’s all said and done we move back to normalcy. They know it comes soon so they will usually say, “I am sorry” or “I won’t do it again” and in the back of both of our minds, we know they will do it again. And probably again. Turn off the lights, put the dishes in the sink/dishwasher, or clean up their rooms---either they have short-term memories or they know they can get away with it. I bet you can guess which one? I can.

So what do we do?

I am a stickler about the lights---I think I got it from my grandfather who would walk around the house and turn out the lights. Nothing disgusts me more than dirty plates left behind---but when it comes to a messy room? I say, “Let them live in it.” We do. If they want it to be livable, which apparently they really don’t care about often, then they can find their path to the bed and hop up. Unfortunately they learned this trait from me as the clothes have piled up on my chair for long periods of time; I just am not neat.

Probably the most memorable game face I ever had to put on occurred about 15 or so years ago. My son Jason had been acting peculiar; something was just not right and it was obvious. He was quiet and was on edge---not his style back then. Finally I said, “Jason, what’s going on, you have not been acting yourself for several days.” At that point I could tell the truth was about to be told He said, “Dad, have you ever gotten a 38 on a math test before?” I thought about as I now knew the truth. I said, “A 38? I don’t think I ever got a 38, perhaps a 31 or 42, but not a 38.” Blood rushed back into his face.

It turns out he was scared because he had to have the paper signed by a parent; it was signed, but it was very obvious the signature was his. This is when the game face came on. I let him know that forging was not a good idea and I am hopeful he learned a lesson from this. He assured me he did and I let him know I did not expect this to happen again. He was so grateful for not being in a lot of trouble. He went off to play somewhere and I had to leave the house as I was having a very difficult time not laughing. Finally I stepped outside and could not stop laughing---if there was ever an honest moment, I had just witnessed it. Obviously I still remember it today---and that was a long time ago.

The photo above was taken at Indiana University. On the side of a truck was this photo of a “game face.” Ready to cheer in a very serious way---he wanted to show his allegiance to the Hoosiers. We all have our game faces, let’s hope we can wear it with pride the next time it is on---and when it’s off, have a good laugh.

Thanks for stopping by.