Heard a dad at game night say my dice tray was 'too nice to use'

Last Friday at the community center game night, this older guy watched me set up my wooden dice tray and just said, "That thing's too nice to use, you'll scratch it." I laughed it off but then caught myself being extra careful all night, barely letting anyone roll in it. It hit me that I bought it for exactly this purpose, to enjoy it, not to keep it pretty. Anyone else have gear they treat like a museum piece instead of just using it? What finally made you get over that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_linda1mo ago

People do this with everything, not just dice trays. I see it with fancy cookware, nice towels, even cars that sit in the garage all week. We buy stuff to make life better, then we let some stranger's offhand comment convince us we're not worthy of using it. The real trick is remembering that a scratch or a stain means you actually lived with the thing, that it earned its keep. Once you let that first mark happen on purpose, you free yourself from worrying about all the rest. That older guy probably keeps his good china in a cabinet too, and I bet he regrets it every holiday. Use the tray, ding it up, and tell him it's got character now.

kaih3629d ago

Take a look around any house and you'll see the same thing. People hold onto the fancy towels for guests, save the good wine for a special day that never comes, keep the new phone in a case with a screen protector and a backup screen protector. We hoard the experience instead of having it. The stuff we own becomes a job to protect rather than a tool to enjoy. I finally just started dropping my dice in that tray with a little extra force and when I saw the first dent I laughed out loud. Now it's got a story, and that's way better than it looking like it just came from a store.