Family Game Night

This week has been just as I expected it to be..hectic. Add in a few unexpected "surprises" like a speeding ticket I can't pay and family sized strep throat and it got even more so.

Because of it being symphony week, I had to change around my piano teaching schedule and had lined up make ups all night last night, which was supposed to last until way past the boys' bedtimes, meaning I would miss bedtime EVERY SINGLE night this week. I cherish bedtime with my boys. It's the time of day when all the social stresses of being a child fitting in at school fall away and they are my little boys again, asking for hugs, kisses and songs to be sung to them. It is always hard to miss bedtime for a string of nights in a row.

So last night when I got a cancellation for the last few lessons of the night, I was quite happy to be going home to my boys before bedtime. And they were equally excited when Mommy came in the door. Noah shared some silly joke he had heard (he's turning into quite the comedian) and then asked if we could play Scrabble, of all things. It was almost bedtime already but I was happy with the suggestion and went and dusted off the old board (yes, it had been in the closet for a LONG time). It was even more fun when Aaron and Daddy both decided to join us. We teamed up, Mommy and Aaron against Noah and Daddy, and after a few gentle nudges reminding Steve to let Noah take the lead in word formation, the game began.

We had such a fun time. We had words such as piglet, goofy, and axles. We had Noah total every single score all the way through, including special tiles. I think it was the first time he actually saw the purpose of all of the multiplication facts he's been forced to learn against his will :)

I'm not sure if this spontaneous game night was the result of TV turn off week last week. Or because of the game show on the HUB network called Family Game Night (which is very fun if you ever get a chance to see it) but the boys were still talking about the game this morning and Noah asked to take the card game version of Scrabble to school today to play during recess.

The boys are growing up so fast. I know our times are limited for when they want to sit and play games with us. Most of the time, Noah says NO when I invite him to play a game with me. Perhaps that is why this was so fun. Or perhaps it was because instead of pushing "It's your bedtime", we actually went with the flow and said "yes" in response to a child's request. As we were playing, I smiled thinking that these are the kind of memories that last. Among my somewhat challenging childhood, I still remember the day that my Dad was sitting at the kitchen table teaching my brother how to play chess. Somehow I grasped it too and we played a game together afterward (Of course I lost, as I always did when playing games with my brother). I don't know how old I was or what year it was, but nevertheless the memory of sitting at the kitchen table with a parent playing a game is firmly planted in my mind.

Family game night. I'll hold on to this happy memory for the rest of the week, especially if the week continues to be rocky.

If you have not done this in awhile, I encourage you to dust off the old board games and bring them out. You won't be sorry :)

BTW, the final score was tied at 277 each

Have a good Wednesday