Theme: Grief Work and Healing Journey
My dad and stepmom happened to be visiting when my mom passed away. When I went to their trailer to spend time with them, be around people, have a distraction, and get out of the house, we played two games—Yahtzee and Tri-Ominos. I had never played either game, so they had to teach me, but I quickly caught on and had fun. I was laughing and smiling and being competitive and had momentarily forgotten all about my grief and my mom.
Playing games with your loved ones is a great way to feel connected to others, to bring a little happiness into your life, and to offer your mind and your heart a pause from your sorrow.
Another time I visited with my dad and stepmom, we played Bay Cityopoly, which is a Monopoly game tailored to the city in Michigan where they live.
A couple of times within the same time frame, I went to a beer garden with friends and played Scattergories. Scattergories is a neat word game perfect for wordsmiths. It’s always fun to hear what words your opponents come up with, and if either of you have a clever or dirty mind, the answers can be quite hilarious. We laughed out loud several times at our answers or when we came up with the same thing.
Laughter is important. It really is a form of medicine. It may not seem as though you have the ability to laugh or be happy when your grief is so fresh and raw but spend some time playing games with loved ones and it will happen. You will laugh and smile and have a good time.
D - Donating
E - Epistle (Letter from Heaven)
F - Facebook Posts
G - Grief Share
H - Haiku Poetry
I - Imari
J - Job (New Job)
K - Kitchen Time
L - Ladybug Rocks #LadyBugRocksFL
M - Miracle Moments
N - Nature
O - Our Story (Keepsake Journal)
T - Tauren Wells "Joy in the Morning"
U - Use + YOU
W - Wellness Journal
Y - Yahtzee
I used to enjoy Yahtzee, but don't even remember how it's play. While I was in Michigan, I learned a. new word game, Quiddler. Like Scrabble, it's a word game, but played with a cards that give you the letters and as the game goes on you have to more letters and can make increasingly more difficult words.
ReplyDeleteQuiddler is new to me. Thank you for the game recommendation! I’m going to tell my friend about this one.
DeleteWow, I haven't thought of Yahtzee in forever. I miss living with family. We used to pay after meals all the time - cards, dice, dominoes, board games ... Cribbage was especially popular. Maybe someday again - I guess that is why you see so many older people play games in the retirement homes. I wonder what our generation will do after working ourselves into the ground so long without any downtime.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never actually played Cribbage before.
DeleteWe’ll probably be back to playing board games. lol
My family used to do a jigsaw puzzle together when I lived at home. Very soothing! But nearly always one piece missing!
DeleteVisiting for the A to Z Challenge 2024. My final post on Villains is now up! https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-to-z-blogging-challenge-2024-villains_29.html
Sue, there’s nothing more annoying than a puzzle with a missing piece.
DeleteI think Mummy plays something like Yahtzee online every day. It’s called Wordle. But Mummy plays lots of games every day.
ReplyDeleteI like your A2Z. Thanks for visiting us. I discovered what spam is yesterday, and your comment was in there, sorry!
I’ve never played Wordle, but I know a few people who do/have.
DeleteI think games are always a good idea. Check out Skip-Bo. I learned to play this in a special ed class, and now it's a favorite.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendation! I’ll definitely check it out.
DeleteI remember Yahtzee from my high school days when we were obsessed with it for a season. We'd stay up all night playing. Mad! Games are great. When my children were younger we often played Monopoly together, but these days my board game contests are with my eldest daughter. I taught her to play Upwords and now she regularly beats me.
ReplyDeletehttps://dacairns.com.au/blog/f/a-to-z-blogging-challenge-y
Maybe I should try laughing some day...
ReplyDeleteIt’s worth a try.
DeleteHi Chrys - I haven't played either of those ... but I agree ... playing games, laughing as we engage and then our minds can be distracted ... scattergories looks fun too - well done on finishing the A - Z - I'm sure many have learnt a great deal from your entries - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI hope so.
DeleteLaughter is sometimes the only medicine you need :-)
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for Y: My Languishing TBR: Y
Cursed Werewolves
The only and strongest medicine.
Delete