Kindred Spirits or Sibling Rivalry?

We all have family members or relatives we shared an interest with while growing up. For me it was competition with my brother and sister. From early childhood when we played kickball with friends to family game nights the goal was to win. We never cheated or looked for an unfair advantage but instead played with a level of tenacity most could not comprehend. Even in defeat we were good natured albeit satirical at times and never bitter. It was 'always' about integrity and respect. Not sure how much of this was instilled by our parents or simply our character. I remember one night when I was 10 playing a game of 'Sorry' with my family. I had 1 piece left to make it home and got sent back repeatedly by everyone, roar! Being a Taurus and stubborn this did not sit well with me. I always had a temper but managed to channel it toward constructive habits. Still I would be lying if I said I wasn't waiting eagerly for next game to seek vengeance haha.

Fast forward over the years and we're all grown now. My brother and I have always been video game aficionados and manage to set aside time to this very day to sit and play a few hours every now and then. We go way back to the days of Atari and the game has changed much over the years but our spirit has not. Even when we go online to play random strangers our philosophy is still the same, play with integrity and respect. Yeah it blows when you are beating the crap out of someone and they quit mid-game and it doesn't count. We blow it off and move to next opponent. I can't tell you how many beat downs we've taken over the years and never once quit. Oh my current poison of choice nowadays?... Madden '17. When not online I enjoy a good game of Risk when he visits. We use to play chess for hours on end as kids and love a good strategic game.

Anyway with spouses, kids, nieces and a nephew in the mix today we still find time for family game night. It's mainly Spades, Uno and Phase 10 and an occasional app game. The competition and tenacity is still there and appears to have been passed on to the younger generation. This kindred spirit or sibling rivalry if ya call it that has served us well and driven us to reach beyond life's goals and strive for our dreams. It's formed a bond many outsiders would scratch their head at but we understand it fully. -James