Setting the Deck???

My daughter has me hooked on Uno. I hadn't played the game in years, but with the help of my 6-year-old, I'm now an addict. In the beginning, I was Nice Mommy and dutifully let her win many games, but now that she's a little card shark, our games have become quite competitive. We've both been known to slam down a card and say, "Draw 4, Baby!" But being accused of cheating wasn't something I was expecting to hear.

Today, I was shuffling the deck when Daughter said, "Mom, you're looking at the cards. I see you." I tried to explain to her that I was looking at the cards, but only to rearrange them since they had gotten all mixed up. To my surprise, she got frustrated and said again, "But Mom, I saw you. You looked, and you know all the cards. You know your cards and my cards and what's in the deck and the pile and what card will get turned up next. I know what you were doing. You were setting the deck."

Setting the deck? Hmm. As I explained to Daughter, the correct term is "stacking" the deck, which of course Mommy would never do.

"Honey, that's like cheating, and cheating is like telling a lie. You know Mommy would never do that. Where did you hear about stacking a deck of cards anyway?"

"From Grandma," she replied nonchalantly.

Ah yes. Family card games. If stacking a deck of cards is all she learned while watching our family play cards, I consider myself lucky. We're a tight family. We get along well and enjoy the time we get to spend together, but when we play cards, obscenities are known to fly. If I hear Daughter call me a "shitbird" the next time we play a game, I won't be surprised.

As for stacking the deck, I was finally able to convince Daughter that I did not cheat, but it wasn't my honest nature that convinced her.

"Even if I wanted to cheat, which I don't by the way, I wouldn't," I said. "You see, Mommy isn't quite ... smart enough to set the deck, Honey. Only your uncle can do that."

"And Grandma?" she asked.

I laughed. "Yes. Definitely Grandma."