The Cards.

     It's probably a safe assumption that anyone reading this blog has their own computer. If that's true, you've played solitaire. Guaranteed. You've all played it at work while you were on break. You were on break, right? It's on my cell, so I've been known to play while in the bathroom. Probably why my legs go numb...but I digress.
     Bet you didn't know the odds of winning at standard Klondike Solitaire (not Vegas style) is between 82 and 91.5%. Eighty percent of the time, researchers could tell if a game was going to be winnable in under 4 seconds. Four seconds. The chances of getting dealt a game of KS in which no cards can be moved anywhere is 0.025%. I swear I've had that hand three times in a row. If you want to read the Oregon State research report, here's the link.
     You may be wondering what solitaire has to do with raising a kid, having babies, or being a dad. And for those of you not wondering that, you should be. Well, most of you have heard the Nature vs Nurture argument about what makes us; us. Are we slaves to our genes, or is it possible to overcome predispositions through discipline, medication, self flagellation, or the exorcism of demons?
     While genetics play a role (nature), that can't be everything. If it was, there would be no such thing as responsibility or human agency. You can't send someone to jail if their gene's made them do it. That's what the insanity plea is all about! And it's just as unfair to expect a person with diminished mental capacity to come up with the theory of relativity all on their own. Better yet, it's like blaming my father for his own Parkinson's. So where's the middle ground? At what point am I no longer pushing my child to be their best and instead I'm asking them to overcome something genetically set? How much of my kids personality is just ingrained, and how much is just learned bratty behavior?
     This is where solitaire comes back. Even though the majority of games played are winnable, the majority of games I play aren't won. Nature may have dealt my cards (genetics), but I get to play the hand (nurture). One thing I will do, is teach my kid how to play a hand. Because, in the end, that might be all we really have. That's all we can be held accountable for. Did we do what we could with what we had? If my kid does all they can and fails fantastically, I'll should still hold my head up high and shout to the world, "THAT'S MY KID!!!!!!!!!"