I’ve realized as we have sat together on many a rainy day to race to King Kandy, that there are numerous valuable life lessons that can be taught at the same time.

Because I’m their momma, and not their babysitter, aunt or grandparent- regardless of what we are doing I still have to make and enforce rules.

When it is your turn (and don’t think you are going to pick up a card before it’s your turn, I’ll not raise a child to cut in line in the grocery store or the movie theatre as an adult,) you will not peek at the cards before deciding which one you would prefer. No-siree-bob. In the wise words of Ms. Emily, my child’s preschool teacher, “You get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit.”

Once you have had your turn, you get the torturous task of keeping your hands to yourself while the other players have their turns. You will leave your gingerbread man on the board wherever he may land. I don’t care if you are one turn away from King Kandy and his Candy Castle, if you draw the Mr. Mint card, you can march your happy little gingerbread butt back to the Peppermint Forest. (When you take this walk of shame at my house you do it to the sound of everyone else at the table saying in unison, “wah-wah-wahhhhh.”)

We can’t control the setbacks we face in life, even when we think we were almost there.

Wherever there is, life often happens and you don’t get to change things. You must deal with whatever situation you find yourself in, and you might as well be happy about it.

There will be no crying over losing, because in real life we don’t always win. We can’t always be the best or the first, but we can be happy regardless of our circumstances.  

In life, just like in Candy Land, when things don’t go as planned, the best thing we can do is keep on playing.

(Robin O’Bryant is a Mount Pleasant resident and mother of three. Read her blog online at www.robinschicks.com or e-mail her, zebandrobin@hotmail.com See more columns at www.moultrienews.com).