Prerelease weekend

Three times a year, Wizards of the Coast sponsors prerelease tournaments for their new sets. The prerelease is an opportunity for players to play with the new cards in a setting where no one else has played with the new cards. It's an opportunity for a sort of group discovery of what these new cards do. There are spoilers that are leaked ahead of time, but until the packs are actually cracked, no one knows what's inside.

Since I got married and definitely since Oliver was born, I have seen a drastic cut in how much Magic I get to play. But prerelease weekends are an opportunity for me to get to play Magic for an extended period of time. There are a group of folks that I only see at prerelease weekends, so it becomes also a time to renew old acquaintances. Last prerelease I played in three flights and ended up winning a box of cards. This time was the prerelease for Guildpact. I played in zero flights and didn't win a thing. I didn't go.

If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would have voluntarily skipped a prerelease for anything other than a compulsory attendence event (like a wedding or a funeral or work), I'd have told you that you were cracked. If you had told me that I'd have rather stayed home because I wanted to work on the house, I'd have told you that I wanted what you were smoking. But if you told me that I'd stayed home and that the highlight of my day was a walk to the park with my son walking along holding on to one of my fingers, then I'd have told you that it must have been a day well spent.

Just for that walk with my son.