Never had we been so divided. I was only in grade school, but rules had already been made. Followed. Lived. It was when I went to visit a cousin that everything changed. We went to the playground. Lots of children were there. Enough to play a game. We decided on “Duck, Duck…” (A group of players sits in a circle, facing inward, while another player, who is “it”, walks around tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each a “duck” until finally calling one a “gray duck”, which designates the chosen player as the chaser. The chaser then stands and tries to tag the chasee (it), while the chasee tries to return to and sit where the chaser had been sitting before.) Much to my surprise and horror, the player who walked around the group first did not call out “gray duck,” but goose! Goose! I was appalled!  The game was “Duck, Duck…Gray Duck. For me, for everyone in my school, it had always been Gray Duck. How could it possibly be goose??? I stopped the game. Goose??? What is this Goose?? They had never heard of gray duck. We defended our sides, for a matter of minutes. Turns out the game was exactly the same, no matter what we called the person who was “it.” We continued to play in the sun. 

I feel like the lesson is pretty obvious. I just wish we all could see it, today, as adults. All the time we waste, arguing over nothing, fighting over nothing, when all we really want is to spend another day chasing under the sun. I reach out my sweaty hand of youth — Come play.