Playing UNO with my baby brother is exhausting! I love him with my whole heart, but he tires me out! How could so much energy be in something so small? It baffles me to this day!

Our routine is a never-ending cycle. Once you start playing, you can never get out. The only stops are snack-time and nap-time.

First, I shuffle the cards while he occupies himself with his latest toy. He’s so spoiled, so I only shake my head and sigh.

Then I deal the cards. He has this idea that if he gets an UNO card, he wins the game. He always yells out when he gets one and I always shake my head–the brain of a child is remarkable.

Next, I put out the first card from the deck. He always gets confused over whether he should put down his own card or whether he should take the starting card for himself. I always let him go first.

We play our cards. I always have to tell him when his turn comes.

Then the end of the game comes. When he has UNO, he always tries to slip his last card in even though it doesn’t match the number or color of the one before it. He knows what he’s doing, cause he always looks up at me with his wide eyes as he slips his card on the top of the deck and then he says “oops, sorry” when I call him out on it.

He’s funny.

Whenever I win, crickets.

But when he wins, all heck breaks loose. He screams out “I won! I won!” Then he goes in for comparison points. “Abigail, you know I won and you didn’t” and then he wants to play again.

And then I re-shuffle, and re-deal because I love him.