Games

My family was always split when it came to games growing up. My sister and my dad loved them as much as I did, but we could rarely get my mom or brother in on a card game. It's still that way for most games, though my brother is up for Wits and Wagers now and you will always get a round of Scrabble from my mom.

My sister was the one who taught me poker. Except, she didn't know how to play. And we were about 6 and 10. She just told me to go get some of my stuff, explained the process of betting, then we just kind of jumped into it. She'd look at her hand, look at mine, tell me I didn't win, then deal us again. I wasn't a big fan of poker.

We had a Brain Warp phase in the Miner house for a while. Though, we always got creeped out by the "Wanna warp again?" voice that would come out of no where when the game had been idle for 5 minutes. I can still hear that perfectly in my mind.

My dad came up with a churchy version of Scattergories we played on Sundays. There were so many laughs when 25 Words or Less came out for Family Home Evening. Ali and I always used inside jokes to full advantage during that game and it felt like borderline cheating. Then there was the "I Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog" moment, or the time I learned that an elk wasn't actually just a big deer. We never had a boring round of 25 Words or Less.

Games are still my favorite thing to do when family is together. Michael can only handle a couple rounds of Speed with me before the competition in the air gets to be too much for him. Even when he wins, the stress of it all makes it not worth it in his book. Here's to hoping we've produced game lovers of our own. Right now Westin is stuck on "I Spy" and I'm ready to branch out. But, it does boost your confidence when you play with him. He always says, "Yeah, that's what it is!" on your very first guess.

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This post is part of my 8-minute memoir series, following the prompts from author Ann Dee Ellis. You can read more about the project here. This series is an effort to keep writing in my routine, keep a record of life, and keep my spirits high. 

"I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say." - Flannery O'Connor.