Let the games begin....

Wow!  Thanksgiving flew by!  I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday.  My mom and dad flew in and spent the week with us.  We enjoyed a week filled with food and laughter and maybe just a wee bit of competition.  Wait.. did I just say competition?  Yup.  You see, we tend to play games when we are all together.  And although we mostly tend to be mild mannered people, we all like to win.  Which is a problem, because we can't all win.

Now, we don't get nasty about it or anything.  We just tend to do things like question the rules, question a play in the game..... Nothing serious and it's all in good fun. (Unless you are playing a game of Sorry with a group of teenagers and your brother and you decide to get everybody to help you cheat and then he gets mad and stomps off....  I may or may not be guilty.  But that was still fun and funny.)

The best quote of the week came from my son.  We were playing domino's where you are trying to score points by playing tiles in such a way that they add up to a multiple of five.  At the same time you are trying to count what dominos are still left out there and block others from scoring high points.  In the middle of all this seriousness, Keagan blurts out "This game is like being in school. It is making me think too hard."  And so another "family saying" was born and I'm sure we will be using that line again and again in the near future.

I love when we gather around a table and play games.  I love that we look each other in the eye instead of all staring at various screens.  I love that we laugh at each other and ourselves.  I even love that we get a wee bit competitive.  And, as we are playing, we often sit back and tell stories about other family members, some long gone, other memories of times where we sat around different tables and played games.

Playing games is more than just time spent together.  You learn how to win and how to loose with grace. At least in my family you do, because we will call you out if you don't.  And then we will use that graceless instance against you for years to come by telling the story of the time when so and so lost his/her temper or got too cocky.  You learn perseverance.  No one in our family wins because someone "let's" them.  A win is earned.  So, if you loose every game one day, you get up the next day and play again, because, if you stick it out, chances are that eventually you will win one game.  You learn strategy and how to solve complex problems.  And, at least in the case of my family, you learn how to negotiate, and sometimes argue your point.  You also learn how to cooperate with others, carry on conversations, and how to laugh at yourself.  All of these are great life skills.  All of these help strengthen bonds.

Some of my earliest, and best, childhood memories are of my family playing games together.  So, if you are looking for a simple way to make family memories, I encourage you to gather around a board game.  My challenge during this busy season is to remember to take some time to slow down, look each other in the eye, and take part in some friendly(and yes maybe competitive) game play.