Growing up I had 32 cousins swarming around and we were often together. I was toward the tail end. Next to last in the middle age group. Two years younger than the one in line above me. The middle group was, on some level, able to merge in with the older cousins depending on what everyone was doing. I would trail behind and attempt to be allowed in too. One thing that the “older” cousins did was play games. Card games like Trump. Board games like Clue. Being a good bit younger I was pretty much clueless when it came Clue. I had to tease like the dickens to be allowed to play and then I lost every time. Much to the sheer pleasure of the gloating older cousin who won every time. Things for me weren’t much different with card games. Unless we were talking Crazy 8′s, Old Maid… But I yearned to learn.
One day when I was 8ish, without my asking, an older cousin asked me, “Do you wanna to learn to play a new card game?”
Totally astonished I said, “Yeah. Sure.”
He said, “Okay, so if I teach you, you’ll follow the rules?”
Puzzled, but without hesitating I eagerly agreed, “Yes.”
“You swear?” he pressed.
“Yes. Swear,” I said shaking my head vigorously and holding up my hand.
“Okay then,” he said as he picked up the card deck, bent them between his fingers and thumb and said, “The name of this game is 52 Pick Up. And this is how you play.” He bent the cards nearly in half and sent them streaming through the air. The cards showered pell mell all over the floor.
I stared down at them 
bewildered.
Through his laughter he said, “Now, you pick them up.”
My cheeks burned red and I worked my fists into tight balls. I didn’t move. “Pick ‘em up. You said you would follow the rules.”
“No.” I said. But he jeered me and threatened to tell. Then he did. I picked up the cards, slapped the deck on the table in front him, called him, “Jerk,” and left the room.
Starting a new business is like 52 Pick Up. You start out with a new deck of cards called your business. It seems nice and tight and tidy. Then you start to “play” and the cards fly everywhere. All that you imagined you were going to do isn’t nearly all you need to do.
When I began this business with John, we started out working together every day. We filmed things and learned how to edit them. Very quickly we knew that there were a myriad of other things that we needed to do and learn if we were going to market in the 21st century of social media marketing. And we both couldn’t learn every thing at the same time. So now he largely films and edits. I come along and film some. After he’s edited the life into something I come in, view, and critic. John2 is joining us now too. I delve deeply into the marketing end. I’m becoming the computer, internet techy that’s learning to speaks it’s foreign language. There’s “cards” everywhere, and I’m bewildered. But my cheeks aren’t burning. I think it’s cool. I’m happily following the rules and learning this “card game” without coercion–okay, maybe not without some suppressed screaming and streams of vulgarity resembling a seasoned sailor at times . . .
Night all, Love ya,
Theresa Jane
-who now understands Clue and once could even win some hands of Trump
-taking strength in knowing that I just need to pick up one card at a time
fromhousewifetofilmmaker
