Do You Want to Play a Game?

Remember when play looked a little slower—and felt a little more connected? This episode is a soft nudge to bring back simple game nights and the meaningful moments they create. 

Transcript

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Hey friends, welcome back to Mom Life in the Woods. We are going to start by playing a game. Yep, I'm serious. We are going to maybe we can set up a little backgammon board or some checkers or if the kids are nearby, we can do Candyland or Rumacube. Or if it's just us grown-ups, let's grab a table, shuffle the cards, maybe a game of spades or dominoes, or did I just completely lose you? Are you sitting there thinking, what is she even talking about? Okay, let me try it again then. Roblox, Minecraft, Candy Crush, Super Mario, Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, Mrs. Pac-Ban. I threw that last one in there for me. But that's more like it, right? Isn't it interesting how that list probably felt a little bit more familiar? And yep, you've guessed it. That's what this podcast is about. Times are changing, and the way we play has been shifting. And listen, I'm not about to bash video games, not even a little bit. There is creativity there, there's strategy, there's problem solving. Some of the platforms are incredible, and kids today are learning skills that we didn't even have access to growing up. But still, there was something about the way that we used to gather. And of course, we had our video games too, but not like we have them now. I remember quiet evenings, that picture of Kool-Aid. Maybe that Kool-Aid was a little bit too sweet, but we loved it as kids. A plate of something simple. For us, it was vanilla wafers, whatever was in the kitchen. And a game spread on the table, not on the screen, scrabble, Monopoly. Gosh, it went on forever. Pictionary. Chess. I remember my sister's girlfriend coming over with Pictionary, and she showed us how to play, and we spent all evening playing Pictionary. You sat down, you stayed a while, you looked at each other, you waited your turn, and nothing about it was fast. And everything now is so fast. The colors are so bright. Even in the toys, the toys that our kids are playing with, the colors are bright, loud sounds, constant movement. You win, you lose, you restart, you win, you lose, you restart over and over and over again, and our brains just kind of stay there in that pace. But when you sit down and play a board game, everything slows down. You have to think, you plan, you notice things, you pay attention, but maybe even more importantly, you connect. There's something really special about sitting across from someone and just being there. Even the quiet moments, you know, the ones when somebody's taking their turn and you're just watching them waiting, maybe smiling, maybe, if you're like me, teasing them a little bit. Those moments don't really exist the same way in digital play. You might be playing with someone online, even if they're next to you and you're online, you're not really with them. And I'm not saying that in a critical way, just an observant, honest way. I do want to take a minute to let you know that this episode is sponsored in part by Coach Dion Basketball. Coach Dion Basketball is the Woodlands most dedicated coach, and you can learn more by visiting CoachDion.com. So this time of year, it's so easy to fill up our time. Obviously, we have our video games. Our kids have their video games, and I know some adults who enjoy playing as well, but there are events everywhere. Festivals, markets, things to do every single weekend. And look, I love that. I that's literally what I do. I curate all of that for you. So I know that so many of you plan your weekends off the woodlandsmommy.com calendar. And thank you, first of all. Thank you so much. I love being part of that rhythm in your homes. And I really work hard to curate those events, the ones that I think will be special enough for you to make time for. But I also want to remind you that you don't always need a list to have a meaningful, fun, memory-making day with your family. And you don't even have to leave your house. All you need is to pull down that box or those boxes from your shelf. You might have to wipe off the dust. Is it a deck of cards, a board game, a puzzle, even a simple crossword or a word search? Pull it down, clear off the table, and just start. Guys, there are so many benefits tucked into these kinds of games. You're stretching your brain in a different way. Strategy, memory, problem solving. You're practicing pay. And I'm saying you, I'm really kind of gearing this for your kiddos and the other people in your family, but I noticed that, you know, as grown-ups, we need this too: practicing patience. The kids are practicing patience. You're taking turns, you're learning how to win and learning how to lose. And also, you're learning how to sit still in a way that lets your mind settle a little. And that, as you probably know, that is a skill all in its own. It doesn't have to be complicated. If you guys have younger kids, start with something simple: Candyland, Connect 4, go fish. If your kids are a little bit older, maybe you can introduce something new. Teach them Rumacube or Scrabble, the Scrabble Jr. Even if you have to bend the rules a little bit at first, play around of Uno. Um, that'll turn into 10 rounds because you know, Uno, nobody really wants to stop. And listen, if you have this one child, perfectly fine. So many games are made for two people. Or invite somebody over, a neighbor, a friend, another mom, and her kids, and make it feel like something. Pull out the snacks, pour drinks, maybe make it even a little fun tournament, you know, have a fun prize. It could be a small prize, a bag of candy, bragging rights. Give everybody something to look forward to. Many, many years ago, I was invited to a um, it was an event, Chick-fil-A in Houston. They would do an appreciation event. And as media, I would be invited and they would have this lemon squeezing contest. And guys, the second year they had it, guess who won? Yours truly. I won the lemon squeezing contest. And more importantly, they gave me this big trophy. That trophy is in my closet on the shelf. And I was so proud. But I mean, it's just a little contest, but it made it so much fun that it wasn't just, oh, come squeeze lemons and let's see who won. It was like a big deal. And so, whenever somebody asked me, one of my kids, mom, can you open this ketchup bottle or whatever? Girl, who are you asking? Don't you know I won the lemon squeezing contest of whatever year it was? So, yes, I can open that for you. All that to say, make your board game playing nights fun. Give your winners bragging rights, give them trophies, give them pendants to wear, something to wear around their neck. Okay, this today, you won. You get to keep this in your room. Next Friday when we do game night. We'll see if you have to turn it over to somebody else. And it doesn't have to be elaborate, but it can really become something special. A friend of mine recently told me that she challenged herself and her family to play 300 games this year. I think I am getting that number right. 300. And she explained, this isn't necessarily 300 different games. It's 300 game sessions. So every time you sit down and start a game, it counts. If you play Uno three times in a row, that's three. If you pull out a quick round of checkers before dinner, that counts too. And when I heard that, I thought, that is genius. Because it shifts the focus. It's not this vague idea of we should play more games or more board games. It becomes something you can actually track, you know, the smart goals, something that you are aware of. It makes you more intentional. And I immediately said, Oh, I want to do that with my family too. Not just say it, but decide on a number. Give myself a real goal to work toward, a doable, meaningful goal. And you can make it whatever fits your life. Maybe it's 300, maybe it's 100. She said 300, and I was like, oh, that's a good number. I think I'll do 300 too. Maybe it's one game a day or a few games each week. There is no pressure to hit a certain number. It's really about being mindful and choosing to sit down, choosing to connect. And it honestly got me thinking about other areas too, like time outside. What if we track that the same way? What if we set a goal for how many hours we want to spend outside every week or every month? Because just like game time, those are sometimes the things that tend to slip through the cracks if we don't pay attention. So maybe this is a little nudge for you. Pick a number, write it down, make it a family thing. You can even keep a running list on the refrigerator and celebrate it along the way. Because those little check marks, they represent time together. And that's what we're really after. And here's the other thing I love about those kind of games. You can step away, you can pause. No more, mom. I can't pause this. No, you can pause. You can get up, you can refill your lemonade, you can check on something in the kitchen and come right back. There's no pressure, there is no urgency, no don't stop now, or you're gonna lose everything. It's just steady and in a role that feels like it's always speeding up. Steady is kind of beautiful. So maybe this week you try it just once. If you have kids that default to this the screens, just say, hey, let's play something. And yes, you might get a few groans at first, and that's okay. Start anyway, because once you get going, I think that um things are gonna shift. They're gonna lean in, they're gonna laugh, maybe they'll get competitive in some funny ways, and before you know it, you've spent an hour or two hours, and nobody's asking for a screen. And just maybe those are the moments your kids will remember later. Not the level of the video game they beat, the game they downloaded, but the time you sat at the table together and drank lemonade and played checkers. So I'll ask you again do you want to play a game? I'll bring the lemonade. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Mom Life in the Woods. I will see you next time.