I know I've been blessed by God's tender mercies. Heck, if it wasn't for Him; I'd surely have gotten dead by now! There are more tangible ways of knowing of His blessings and I call them grandchildren. Don't get me wrong; I love my adult children; but they are now set upon their own paths and I have little influence over their travels. It's different with grandchildren, though as I can still affect their lives.
My 7 year old grandson, Eli, is a blessing in my life. He is an amazing little person and I marvel at what he contributes to my life: my path. First of all, he's just so darned cute. Second, he's his father's son. "Hold on, now, what do you mean by that?" I am asked. He is a mini Tyler. Some days, this could cause a shudder or a pot hole to appear on the road, but mostly, because it is Eli - I smile. Payback!
Eli and his dad this past 2010 fall in the pumpkin patch.
Happy or sad, Eli is a gentle soul. Intelligent beyond charts (think Mensa), with an active mind that wants to find out how things work. My engineer friends would say he has "The Knack". I don't know about that, but what I do know about Eli is that we did not have the relationship I wanted and it was my fault. Lizzy is easy to do things with and to interact with. Eli is not.
I had to find out what I could do to change me in order to have a relationship with Eli. So, I watched, listened to him talk, and found out what Eli likes to do. He likes to play strategy games. He likes to build things and he loves numbers and mathmatics. OK, phew...I'm good to go: strategy games. Games that make us think, plan/plot, move forward or backward (much like real life), and win!
First, I had to learn that those cute little colored dots mean something. They have synergy or conflict of strategy with specific colors.
So, I decided to learn how to play the intense, intelligent and very interesting card game of Magic The Gathering. This game has been around since the mid-90's and I never, EVER thought I would be interested in it - let alone play it. But, here I am wandering through the Multiverses of Magic The Gathering and having an absolutely great time with my sons and Eli.
Eli checks his hand for "just the right" card to play to beat me!
My oldest son, Jeff, taught me to play the basics and that prompted Tyler who is the Jedi Master of all things Magic The Gathering (MTG) to declare, "OK, let Jeff teach you the basics, and then I'll teach you strategy, synergy of cards and how to win." Game on!
A recent game on the dining room table with Tyler, Eli and Jeff. Tyler holds an 8/8 flying dragon, the Hellkite Overlord! A very powerful card!
Confession time: I couldn't beat Eli. His dad taught him to play this past summer and he totally understands the synergy of cards and how to use strategy to overpower his opponents. He loses to his dad or his Uncle Jeff, but not often! And...until this past week, he beat me every time we played. But this old grandma will give no quarter in a game: young or old...same/same - I'm in it to win!
So, how did I win? I cheated. I used a deck Uncle Jeff has. How does this happen? Magic cards are sold in sets with other cards called booster packs. You open the deck, look at what you have and then open the boosters and put together a deck using cards from other sets and booster packs. Players and those who have "the Magic Knack" put together decks where the cards play off (synergy) with each other allowing better strategy. Are you lost?
I am currently putting together a deck from a series of 6 decks called, "Duels of the Planeswalkers" A Planeswalker is a very powerful soldier! My deck will be powerful (or so I hope).
This is Jace Breleen Planeswalker of a blue deck. Think mind control with his blue dot deck.
Chandra Nalaar Planeswalker! Red deck - fire, volcanoes, dragons.
Illiana Ness Planeswalker - Black deck - dark, death destruction powerful.
And my favorite Planeswalker: Nissa Ravene - her deck is a compilation of green and black.
OK...the basic game is you need to have a deck of 60 cards comprised of life (mana). What's this..here ya go...
See, not so hard? There's blue-water-Jace; Black-swamp-Illiana; Red-mountain-Chandra; Green-land-Garruk. White is Planes - but I don't know who the Planeswalker is for that deck....will learn and get back to you.
A MTG player builds a deck of 60 cards in 1/3's: 1/3 Mana or life; 1/3 combat creatures like this guy:
The Hellkite Overloard Dragon. He's powerful magic and one of my favorite dragons to have in a deck.
Still with me? Ok...life, which is mana, and fighting creatures like the dude above. That's 2/3's right? The final 1/3 of the deck are cards that can interrupt players, hasten your creatures into battle, save your life or help you draw more cards. Sounds so easy...draw your hand of 7 cards and then play by the rules. And, trust me...Eli knows the rules and patiently waits for me to figure out what to do. He has learned the art of putting together his own decks - he is his father's son and his uncle's delight-much to my dismay. I cannot beat him with pre-constructed decks....that's why I resorted to using Jeff's deck...at least I gave myself a fighting chance to be in the game for more than fodder!
I am having a great time learning the game - but most of all I have found a common ground for Eli and me. He and I play non-stop games on the weekends when we can. My sons would tell me they taught me to play the game; but I know this is not true. I have been graced by God's blessing to have a 7 year old grandson named Eli, sit across the table from me and patiently teach his grandma the true art of Magic.
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