When I was a kid, I used to love to collect trading cards. I was a big sports fan, and it was my life goal to get all of the best trading cards from all of the best teams. Although I never quite got there, I was pretty close. My baseball card collection in particular was very good, and my football collection wasn't far behind. Unfortunately, like many people, I lost my trading card collection as I was growing up. I don't know if it got misplaced during a move, thrown out by an overzealous parent cleaning up the house, or taken by a jealous friend or acquaintance, but somewhere along the way, I lost all of my sports cards.
You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that my niece and nephew are both big fans of trading cards. Of course, card trading has changed a lot since I was a kid. People no longer collect sports cards, it seems, or at least they aren't as popular as they once were. The trading card business has shifted a lot. Many of the cards actually come from Japan. They are used to play various games, kind of like role-playing games. At first it seemed kind of strange to me. I couldn't see the point, particularly when video games have gotten so good. After I played with the trading cards for about an hour, however, I was completely hooked. It was a little bit embarrassing to be so addicted to a kids game, but after that I would play with my niece and nephew whenever I had the chance. I couldn't get enough.
When it was time for their birthdays, I thought I would surprise them. Rather than buying them a trading cards booster pack, I thought I would make my own. It took me hours, but I actually managed to design my own game for them. I wasn't sure how they would like it. Would they be polite and pretend to like it when secretly they would rather have the magic cards? I actually dreaded giving it to them a little bit, but there was no need to worry. They absolutely love my present! It was a whole new game for them to play, and we got to spend the rest of the evening at it. It gives me a lot of pleasure to be able to share one of their favorite pastimes with them.
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