Game Night

In keeping with one of my new year's resolutions, tonight is the first Wednesday of the year for game night. Does anyone have any pointers on how I can outsmart my 3 and 4 year old at Candyland? I thought about introducing Texas Hold 'em for cash, but realized that the only money they have comes from the cookie jar full of spare change on the kitchen counter. Plus, they get rambunctious and want to start slugging beers and smoking cigars (and I hate cigar smoke in my house, so we'll have to wait for the summer).

Thinking about game night, I have a vivid image in my head of my mother's smile. We were always big on games at my house - a way for the kids to reconnect at the holidays (usually Thanksgiving and Christmas night). It usually ended in the tipping of the board and a bunch of screaming that someone cheated, but always a fond memory. One in particular comes to mind. We were in the middle of playing Scategories, a game where you roll a dice with letters on it and then you have to find words that start with that letter from a list of general categories; and you were timed. (e.g. the Letter T, category: book = answer like "To Kill a Mockingbird"). Well, my mother always had an answer, was never stumped. The reality of this is that she made up answers that didn't fit and then would argue her point so succinctly that everyone would be convinced there was such a bird called the "Ziti" bird, or an author named "Cinnamon Candy" (double points for double letters). Then, after the game was over, she'd sit and giggle at the fact that she snowed us all. I miss playing those games, even with the arguments and debilitating insults that ultimately accrued. It has nothing to do with winning or losing either - it has to do with making a memory to last a lifetime.

So, if my kids want to play Candyland, they better expect me to win. After all, I am my mother's daughter.