I'm coaching my son's soccer team..9 girls and 2 boys.
They are adorable and goofy 7 year old kids who just want to
which is exactly what they should be doing at their
What struck me at last night's game was the inevitability of these kids being nudged into a new phase in Life.
For the last seven years their Parents have been instilling the ground rules of a Kinder, Gentler, Life..
you know the 
What this means is that the kids will NOT attempt to 'steal' the ball from an oncoming opponent...
that would be rude!
However now all of the Parents on the sidelines start yelling..
I mean dramatically encouraging and not-so-subtly coaxing their little angels to... ((GO GET THE BALL SWEETIE/BUDDY!))
And so it begins...
Humans need to play.
We are prolly at our creative best when we tackle problem solving in a playful manner. That's why those state of the art Hi-Tech Silicon Valley Corporations have Recreational Rooms for their 'partners' to decompress in...
some even have Nap Rooms because sooner or later everybody needs a Time Out!
So right now I am witnessing this transition from the Kindergarten Absolutes such as...
be considerate of others, be kind and polite, share, don't smoke, wait your turn, don't pick your nose, don't steal someone else's stuff, wash your hands after you go to the bathroom, use a condom, don't spit in public, always vote Liberal/Democrat even if the candidate is an idiot, the Earth is NOT 4,000 years old, Country music sucks, don't drink and drive
((gasp))
to the bending the rules stage in order to 'get ahead in Life'.
We do this to our kids because we know all too well that some people's kids don't play by the rules...
otherwise known as invoking their right to voluntarily disassociate themselves, and not be held liable, and therefore rendered judgement free, of any past, present or future misrepresentitations, promised or incurred, during activities consciously or unconsciously exercised, regarding any discretionary personal interpretations, or liberties taken, with the aforementioned technical definitions of the proper conduct clause, pursuant to the Kindergarten Rules Act, enacted since the dawn of Civilization.
When we reach adulthood we absofrickinlutely HATE people who don't play by the rules. When they get ahead of us our moral indignation reaches it's breaking point.
Some people are genetically gifted from the getgo and others practice and practice and practice until they master something.
It is natural to resent the first group (what are ya gonna do?)
but you have to admire the latter.
People who look at Life as a Game are annoying too. Those who make money hand over fist by treating business as a Game are especially vexing...
but they love making money because they are playing..
some of them lie, cheat, and steal and some of them don't.
Either way at some point we all began to realise that we are competing with others. We try to get on a Team of like minded people who play by the rules and then, and only then, can we feel better about playing on a level playing field.
HA! If Life were only like that!
This is why most of us, ordinary people who are playing the Game Of Life at a moderately functional level to those of us who are severely structured, have such a hard time with cheaters!
We can't understand
A;WHY the 'CHEATERS' don't seem to know the f***ing rules,
& B; WHY they seem to get away with it.
AAARRGGHH!!!
Why should you play by any set of rules if other people ignore them and cheat?
Well listen up Pilgrim and listen good, because I'll tell you WHY, and this is exactly what my Parents told me...
BECAUSE!
That's why!
Anyway I just wanted to mention how sad it is to see the End of Innocence unfold. 
I will continue to enforce all of those quaint 'Old Fashioned' notions and make sure that those cute kids have FUN playing by the rules.
In a few short years those sweet, little, kids will need to decide for themselves how they'll play when they finally make it to 'The Show'.
