Rock, Paper, Scissors...Shoot!

Who out there remembers that old childhood hand game - Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot? It was a famously relied-upon method of solving all sorts of problems...helping us through difficult childhood logjams like who goes first. Is it coming back to you now? Hands behind the back, one two three, put out your fingers in one of the assorted designs as an indicator of your choice. Sometimes you would have to go at it for quite some time until the situation was resolved.

Wouldn't it be great if we could just pull that out and use it when we have to make some of the choices we are faced with? If my memory serves me, I seem to recall that there was an unspoken rule that this was a totally fair way to designate a winner, or to move you beyond that really sticky point. Think about all the choices we make every day. Some are so natural to us that we aren't even aware of the decision being made. Others, well... flip a coin? rock, paper...

We are inundated with so many choices in our current society that at times, we can feel paralized. A recent one for me was what to do about work. Another involved educational choices about my children. And even another was what the heck do I put in the school lunches for the umpteeumth time! Okay, while we're at it, how about which candy to buy for the trick or treaters? Choices come in all sizes - small, medium, and large. You can even get them supersized these days!

By now, you know I have two early adolescents in my life. You can imagine that choices and decision making is top of mind around here. Really makes a mom think hard about the choices that have been, those that are, and those to come. I better be on my toes: my kids are just coming off several years of practicing (rock, paper, scissors)! They're not missing a trick.