I love game night. For the last few weeks, almost every night has been “game night”. I grew up in a family that loved to play games. We played lots of card games and board games, outside games, and inside games. It seemed we were almost always playing something. We rarely watched TV and, well, video games didn’t exist until I was a bit older. Nothing beats a good, fast card game for teaching logic, hand-eye coordination, developing good peripheral vision, and learning the skills of winning and losing graciously. And, of course, the basic math skills of keeping score.
Playing games gives an interaction that few other things do. Playing video games is fun, and we do some of that from time to time, but it is not the same. When we play video games, our attention is fixed on the TV. When we play cards, depending on the game, of course, our attention is focused on the cards, but there is more time for interaction and our attention to be focused on each other, building and strengthening those family relationships.
We enjoy getting outside and playing active games and sports, but this time of the year, when it is getting dark about the time I get home from work, we turn to playing cards and board games much more often. I do foresee a lot of hide and go seek in the dark, sardines, and other similar games in my near future, but for now, we are playing a lot of cards.
Building relationships is what life is all about. Good, healthy relationships are the key to a good, healthy life. Relationships are the foundation of pretty much every part of life. Relationships are not built by clicking a button and I suddenly have 15 new friends. Relationships are built one on one, face to face, not Facebook to Facebook. Relationships are built over time. I have a good relationship with my wife and kids, not because I am “dad” and “husband” and they are expected to have a good relationship with me. I have a good relationship with my wife and kids because I have invested a lot of time into those relationships. Some of that is one on one time, but most of it is family game night.
Oh… it’s my turn to deal. Got to run.
Comment below and let me know what your family does to build relationships.
My family doesn’t play a lot of games. We are builders. And demolishers and re-builders. We like to labor. We connect when we are arguing how something should be done this way or that. Also, we connect when someone has a story about their day. And believe me, someone always has a story. It’s common for someone to say, “I want to tell you what happened today, but I’m gonna wait so I can tell it to everyone at the same time.” We gather in the living room and listen. It’s seldom a story that’s a big deal, but we all listen and connect. And that’s how we do it around here! (I would like to say we bond over our evening meal, but everyone goes in different directions, so that doesn’t happen much.) When the kids were younger, we use to have calendars and we would meet on Sunday and go over the upcoming week so we’d all be on the same page. That was nice. Now we are not on the same page and seldom in the same chapter! I will say, though, as a mom, it’s nice not to have to keep up with everyone’s going-on’s.
Awesome blog.