My father passed away this weekend after a long, full life. My kindergarten friend wrote me, “Every time I sit at a chess board, I will think of your dad. He taught me well, I could hold my own playing the game and he introduced me to the concept of strategy which comes in handy in life! “ My brother also said, “you kept us busy when we were young (skiing, boating, swimming, ice skating, camping, sailing, canoeing, water-skiing, skeet shooting, and target shooting), and took us on many trips. My high school friend said, “Your dad taught me how to play backgammon and I always wanted that silver dollar we played for but never got it.”
These comments got me thinking about all the games we played growing up. A crazy amount of games: pool, ping-pong, shuffle board, Battleship, dominos, House of Cards, mancala, Risk, Strategy, Parcheesi, Monopoly, Knock your block off, Scrabble, Bocci ball, badminton, poker, hearts, gin rummy, war, spoons, twister, basketball, tennis, ball and Frisbee with our dog, croquet, checkers, Chinese checkers, Clue, Operation, Yahtzee, Yacht Race and many more!
I enjoyed playing those games. They taught me a lot too. It gave us time together just having fun. Not accomplishing anything, but just enjoying the moment and taking a break. I am grateful to have those memories. They are good ones to dwell on. I agree with my kindergarten friend, he taught me strategy too. Most importantly, he taught me how to be resilient and keep trying.
