Traditions

I spent last weekend playing in a Mahjongg Tournament.  During the rounds of play I listened to women a couple of decades older than I am talk about the sets they have from their grandmothers.  I heard stories of how they learned the game when they were just children and their love for it.  It isn’t just the playing that they love.  It is the chatter, food, and most importantly the closeness they feel from sharing in an activity that gives them a familiar feeling of home and tradition.

This morning I was reading an article about the game of scrabble.  On her honeymoon the writer and her husband packed a traveling game that they played on the plane, in their hotel suite and on the beaches where they vacationed.

Her husband grew up playing board games and this love was passed on to their children after they were born.  Both of their boys are avid players and their family tradition lives on.

With the age of technology and the individual activities and games it brings, it is even more important to teach our children and grandchildren the traditions we grew up with.

A bowl of popcorn, a deck of cards (crazy eights come to mind), and an evening sharing stories, laughter and fun is on my list of things to do the next time my grandson spends the night.