Honesty. Honestly.

I took a few days off from my grueling, but rewarding, job at MBC Law Firm last week to attend my in-law family reunion.  It's a yearly tradition where close to 100 of them spend a week camping together in the wilderness.  Many of you may be thinking, "Ugh, a week with the in-laws.  How will I make it through?"  But I love my in-laws.  They are a normal group of folks with normal problems but they are good, honest people, and a hell of a lot of fun to be around.  A Hybrid Husband realizes that his wife had a different upbringing with a different family and he enjoys the flavor that they bring to the table.  He learns from his in-laws instead of being afraid of their apparent differences.  But I digress.

Part of this family reunion is a traditional card game called 31.  Without going into the details of the rules, it's enough to know that five of us sat down to play with only one person crowned winner at the end.  At some point during the game, with all five players still alive, I noticed that another player had miscounted his cards.  No one else caught it and had I not said anything it would have brought him closer to being out of the game. But instead, I said something, and as a result his point total was actually higher than mine costing me a "life" in the game.  Honesty certainly did not pay in this instance.

Again, further into the game, I lost another "life" and then the cards were handed in and shuffled.  I realized a few moments later that due to the way I played the last round I should have lost two "lives" and been down to one remaining life, an inch away from being out of the game.  I chose honesty again and turned in a second "life".  Honesty bit me in the butt again and upon losing the following round I was out of the game.  The first player out of the game that is!  The remaining four players continued on without me and even sang me the shameful "You Lost" song: So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!  Doot ditta doot da doot da do, doot ditta doot da doot!"  It was a bitter pill to swallow.

So you are waiting for the highlight of this story, aren't ya?  The happy ending?  The moral?  Well, just as in the movies, this card game indeed had an interesting twist ending.  You see, the game ended with my son being crowned the victor and earning himself a cool $3.75, which to an eight year old is a king's ransom.  Had I not been honest, the game would have played out completely different.  The cards would have been dealt in other orders than the reality they were dealt in.  My son may not have won at all, or at least would not have won in the same way.  And it actually gave me great pleasure to see him win, more so than for me to take the small pot of coins.  My honesty was part of the entire plan, the future I could not see at the time of my confessions.

One never knows how his or her actions will play out in the future.  What may seem like an immediate loss may prove to be a more fruitful gain down the road.  So don't give in to the dark side just yet.  Remain strong and follow your heart.  And always remember that honesty IS the best policy!

Peace Out,

Nathan J.