whippersnapper.

/ˈ(h)wipərˌsnapər/

noun: 1. a young and inexperienced person considered to be presumptuous or overconfident.

I have had the unique pleasure of sitting around a poker table with 8-9 top notch fellas monthly since July. And truly, it’ll stand out as one of my favorite memories of this year (right up there with time with my grandparents, Mindy’s wedding, and meeting Pansy Loamsdown at the outfitters) of living back in the Harbor and expanding my “list of people to send postcards to.”

It feels a little bit like if you were to make a list of people you’ve met throughout your life that you found exceptional, the people who always stood out as witty, smart, charming, and kind, and then the people on the top of this list are all sitting around a table and in front of an empty chair, they’ve set up chips for you to join them for the next game of Texas Hold’Em.

I sit back, the only girl, and I take it all in. I laugh a lot and lose a few chips. I tap my fingers on the table as I make the hard decision of going all in or not. They make fun of me. I laugh some more. Then sometimes I win and try not to grin from ear to ear.

I carpooled with three of the guys this weekend and one mentioned my blog. I said, “The word of the day is whippersnapper.” Driver asked, “Do you know what that is, Beth?”  Shotgun said, “Of course she does. Her picture is next to the word in the dictionary.”

I had to live up to my whippersnapper reputation. The guys were talking about Richard Nixon because somehow it fit into the conversation. Then one said, “Beth, have you ever heard of Nixon?” Smart alleck. I retorted, “Of course. He’s one of Santa’s reindeer, right?” I had them right where I wanted them as I laid down a straight flush! It was the thrill of my life! Is that sad? I don’t think so.

I miss them already.