Learning to Lose Gracefully

For those of you who don’t know me, I am a sore loser. I am extremely competitive and allow those who are closest to me witness my embarrassing outbursts in all of its embarrassing glory. I am pretty sure I got this from my dad, and both my mother and my husband has confirmed that my suspicion is correct. The good news is I am getting better. I make careful choices and try not to loose control.

Eric is an excellent chess player. He is modest and will say he’s mediocre, which we all know isn’t true. Eric is patient and gracious and tries to accept it when I throw a fit when he wins. I am surprised that he continues to play chess with me since I have been known to toss the board at him afterwards. I was less mature in my early twenties.

A few weekends ago Eric and I stay huddled up inside and had a weekend of wine and chess. I lost every game. Seriously, every game. At one point I was so frustrated and pissed that I reached for the board to throw it to the ground. Instead, I lifted my wrist to shake his hand. Progress.