The Best Move

The Best Move

Ginny and I sat on our deck, played scrabble, and enjoyed
a warm summer night. The stars shined; and a light breeze cooled
our skin. The game progressed - our scores close. Ginny formed a
word. It extended to the bottom of the board - the last letter
placed between two "triple word" squares.

It was my turn. I stared at my tiles. My eyes opened wide.
There it was - the move of my life - "Faltered." It word spanned
both "triple word" squares. I scored 140 points, a personal best.

***********************

Life is full of tiles. They're scattered in front of us,
but they're upside down. We don't know what they are until they're
picked up. We can't handle too many at one time. We're only
allowed to choose seven.

Imagine having seven tiles of life in front of you. You stare
at them and think to yourself, "Life starts here." They're lined
up, but they make no sense. You move them around, trying to arrange
them into something logical, but you struggle. The first move
has to be right.

The letters come together into a word, but it's a small one.
Will you use it or keep struggling and make a bigger word?
This is the beauty of the game - you get to replace the tiles you
use. Are you going to make small moves, only to pick up a couple
of tiles? Remember, the more you use, the more you can pick
up - more opportunities.

Later in life, if the tiles are put together right, you get
to have a partner to play with. Their words become stepping stones.
Each decision has an affect on the other's.

Time goes by. The last tile is placed on the board. The game
is over, but the words you created live on. They are the children
fostered, decisions made, friends found, work done, and the life
lived.

We start with the same number of tiles. How we use them
is up to us.

My 140-point score? It represents the day I married Ginny,
the day our words came together, the best move I ever made.

Michael T. Smith

Story ID:	2488
Written by:	Michael Timothy Smith (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Family Memories
Location:	Fort Lee New Jersey USA
Year:	2005
Person:	Ginny