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Final Game Night

Saturday 27 November 2021 | 0 Comments

We played Ticket to Ride tonight — a favorite game for all of us. L and K enjoy it because they actually play to win; E and I love it because we play to stop them from winning. Not to win ourselves — just to get in their way. It means there’s a lot of laughs, a bit of frustration from time to time, and lots of memories.

I’ve always associated games with the extended Thanksgiving break. When we went to Nashville to visit Nana’s brother for Thanksgiving, one of the highlights for me was digging through their game closet. They had everything — games we had of course like Scrabble but also games I’d always wanted to play but never owned like Life and Battleship. And of course Monopoly. I loved it as at E’s age just as much as he loves it, and I’m sure everyone else put up with it just like we put up with it.

Tree 2021

Friday 26 November 2021 | 0 Comments

The earliest we've ever gotten a tree.

We slide out of the Thanksgiving season right into Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2021

Thursday 25 November 2021 | 0 Comments

Thanksgiving for fifteen years always included Nana and Papa. We went to Nashville to visit Nana's brother our first Thanksgiving back in the States in 2005. Less than a year later, he'd passed away. We haven't been back to Nashville since.

From that point, we went to Papa's side of the family every year. There were various cousins, aunts, and uncles there -- never the same group -- but there were always two that never changed: Nana and Papa.

During our first Thanksgiving without Nana in 2019, we all went for a portrait and took Nana with us -- the wound was still raw for everyone, but especially Papa. His first Thanksgiving without Nana in forever.

This is our first Thanksgiving without either of them. The plan to go visit Aunt D, who helped take care of Nana when she first came back from rehab, fell through as did our plan to visit with cousins. Our Polish family from North Carolina -- family in all ways that count, at any rate -- had other plans for Thanksgiving, so we spent it just the four of us. Without turkey.

But with games. What's Thanksgiving without games?

Previous Years

Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving 2019

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2011

Family and Food: Thanksgiving 2010

Interrupted

Fourth Thursday

Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving 2006

Thanksgiving 2005

Pre-Thanksgiving 2021

Wednesday 24 November 2021 | 0 Comments

It's been such an odd Thanksgiving Eve. The only thing I did today that was in line with every other day-before-T'giving was to mow. That only makes sense if you're in the south, I guess.

In the evening, the kids played chess. The Boy won the first game on time; that did not sit well with the Girl, who promptly paid more attention to her time management and checkmated him in the second game.

"She is so competitive," K said.

"But look at it this way," I said. "She could have pouted when he won and refused to play with him again. Instead, she was angry and wanted another shot."

Chess

Tuesday 23 November 2021 | 0 Comments

Playing Around the House

Monday 22 November 2021 | 0 Comments

Genesis 2021

Sunday 21 November 2021 | 0 Comments

My best friend D and I took the Boy to his first concert last night: Genesis. With that show, I've achieved the concert trifecta the two of us always dreamed of: U2, Pink Floyd, and Genesis. D is missing the Floyd, but he last night was his second time seeing Genesis, so I guess we're more or less even.