It is an hour after Thanksgiving dinner.

Family traditions throttle the pace of any high holiday – national or religious.

I am currently throttling my 13 year-old nephew on the nearest basketball court in a post-turkey dinner game of HORSE. 

In my family, you won every contest against an adult until you were a certain age. The victories may have been assured, but every adult made in feel authentic. They would wince under the weight of the child’s crushing strategic genius on a game board, cry tears of frustration as the little one dribbles a soccer ball mercilessly or yet another goal, and howl under the pain of the kid’s wrestling

I can still remember thinking:

I am clearly a genius!

I am an unstoppable force of nature in mind and body - the worlds of both Checkers, soccer and wrestling never witnessed such brilliance until the beginning of my reign. 

And so we launch you out into the world with the notion you are unstoppable.

This Golden Era of your Life lasts until you are about 4 and half – maybe 5.

Then

– and perhaps it is the lingering influence of the Catholic Church or the immigrant experience or simply a desire not to raise spoiled brats –

 The Adults in the family crush the kids in every possible contest that occurs.