Saturday Among the Nieces and Nephews

Yesterday was filled with a co-ed wedding shower for nephew and soon-to-be-niece-in-law. There's something to be said for ritual and tradition. This party was neither. It was mostly a kegger for the kids. No homage to coming of age to be married, entering a new phase of life, etc. Granted they've been living together for a few years now, so some of the "you're wedding night will be special" couldn't be there. The passage of life stuff could, but was very absent. Oh well.

At the party they had a game of "Corn Hole." Okay, stop giggling. Basically it's Bean-bag Toss, but the bag is filled with corn and there are more standardized rules (including a specific kind of paint needed to be used on the goal). So I have no problem with the actual (for lack of better word) sport. It does take some skill and technique, but could we please call it something else? Corn hole already has a meaning, one that I don't think should be applied to a kids game (although Corn Hole is mostly played by adults now, go figure). Every time I see it, or have somebody say the name, I laugh. And yesterday, not only did we play the game, we did it tournament style. You know what's next, right? It'll become an Olympic Sport and the commentators will have to announce that So-and-So is the Gold Medalist in Corn Holing. That's just something I don't want to know about.

After the party we ate dinner with another nephew and his friends. We finally got them to open up right as we finished up. They were somewhat funny. When I was their age I think I was a little stick in the mud, but they've got me beat. Youth is wasted on the young.

Then we visited with another niece and played cards until late. That was fun. She's still in high school. We discussed if she should retake her ACTs. The first time she scored a 30, not bad. She aced the math section, but faltered in the English side of the test. Where she placed percentage wise we said that retaking the test probably wasn't necessary, except the parents are going to pay for it. We said that if she felt she could move up three or four points, it might be worth it. I'm glad she's so smart. She was a good kid, but when she hit middle-school I was worried she was going off the tracks into to much of a celebrity watcher/emulator. I'm also very proud she's good in math.